UCT Sustainability and the SDGs 2022 - Report - Page 16
2
Well educated
citizens & skills
revolution underpinned by science,
technology &
innovation
18
Engaged &
empowered
youth &
children
SDG 4: QUALITY
EDUCATION
UCT recognises the important role access
to education plays in the development of
individuals and economies and strives to
take education out to communities, be it in
person or digitally.
Lifelong learning for all
In 2022, the UCT Centre for Extra Mural Studies (EMS)
offered a free Saturday Summer School outreach
programme to provide disadvantaged youth with
opportunities to rise above their economic and social
circumstances. The programme provides practical
short courses and skills to help job seekers and lead
to learnerships and internships. EMS also offered an
introductory coding course to marginalised high school
learners in partnership with the Denis Goldberg House
of Hope. This is part of EMS’s outreach programme and
builds on the transformational aspect of their work:
lifelong learning for all.
Top: UCT is working towards improving
the quality of basic education and
learning outcomes for learners in lowresource Cape Town communities.
16 – University of Cape Town
Centre for Innovation in
Teaching and Learning (CILT)
Through the Centre for Innovation in Teaching
and Learning (CILT), UCT began to offer
23 open online courses in 2022, hosted
on FutureLearn and Coursera, some freely available and
others for a fee significantly lower than standard rates for
higher education. There are no entry requirements and
the courses are not for university credit. In some cases,
financial aid is available.
Bridging resource access
using open textbooks
The Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D)
in the CILT at UCT is a research, implementation, and
advocacy initiative exploring the potential of open
textbooks to address challenges related to resource
access and student empowerment in South African
higher education.
To date, more than 50 textbooks authored by UCT
academics and students from all faculties and disciplines
have been published digitally under an open access
licence.
