Professor Heather Zar, the chair of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health and the director of the South African Medical Research Council Unit on Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences, is spearheading a research project that is one of 12 globally to receive a recent COVID-19 grant.

Energy poverty is a major challenge in South Africa. Many of the 1.25 million households in informal settlements rely on burning paraffin or wood to cook and provide light and warmth in their homes. Not only do these methods of energy production create health and safety hazards, but they also limit the economic and educational opportunities of the people – most commonly women and children – living in these settlements.

Outliers, a local non-profit organisation that operates in some of the Western Cape’s most marginalised communities, has distributed more than 20 000 educational resources tailored towards primary and high school learners. This has been done to ensure that the learners remain focused on their schoolwork during lockdown.

From a young age, Dr Catherine Duggan knew that she wanted to work in education. More specifically, she knew that she wanted to work in education in Africa. As she steps into her new role as the director of the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB), effective from 1 September 2020, UCT News asked her to reflect on a career spanning more than 20 years and her extensive experience at some of the world’s top business schools.

A good news story in the wake of COVID-19 comes from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Centre for Extra-Mural Studies (EMS), where viewership of their YouTube channel, a repository for their Summer School lectures and recent webinar series, has grown dramatically. Riding on this success, Summer School will now be presented virtually from 11 to 30 January 2021.