UCT-SDG-Report-Draft06 - high - Flipbook - Page 3
Addressing the
Sustainable
Development Goals as
an African university
Vice-Chancellor
interim, Emeritus
Professor Daya Reddy
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and the African
Union’s Agenda 2063 pose challenges of
particular magnitude for the Global South.
Africa is furthest away from meeting the
SDG targets. This places a special onus on
universities and scholars on the continent.
The University of Cape Town (UCT), in its
Vision 2030 strategy, commits itself to
being an institution in Africa and for Africa,
working for the good of the continent,
through our excellent research and
teaching, and our strong continental and
global partnerships.
As an African institution, the challenges of the goals
manifest on our campus and therefore influence many of
the ways in which we run our university. The social needs
of our students are great. Many come from families
living below the poverty line. In addition to the material
support our students need, they are also under immense
pressure to succeed. This pressure takes its toll, and
as an institution it is incumbent upon us to support our
students through this difficult journey as best we can,
providing mental health and academic support, and
as they prepare to graduate and leave the university,
career support as well. We also work hard to address
the consequences of South Africa’s history and current
appalling inequality among our students and staff, and
the communities we serve.
In many ways, addressing the SDGs at UCT is part of
our daily life. It is the only way we can be an effective
university, working and living in accordance with our
values.
But there are also unique opportunities that derive
from our location in Africa. Our staff and students’
lives are embedded in this continent. Living daily with
the development and sustainability questions, and
understanding the challenges and opportunities, they
are best placed to find the solutions Africa needs. They
are also well-placed to work with international staff and
students in addition to collaborators around the world to
contribute meaningfully to global knowledge.
UCT, as a university in a lower-middle income country,
punches above its weight in research and teaching
excellence. This means we have strong access to
global networks and resources that allow us to support
our students and young researchers to achieve their
full potential. These pages contain just some of the
examples of the innovation, on campus and through
research and teaching, that takes place at UCT daily. Our
alumni can be found in executive positions at universities,
civil society, the private sector, and governments around
the world. And we are confident that the students we
graduate take with them an ethos of the importance of
giving back, of rising together and of sustainability.
While it is difficult to quantify in precise terms the
total impact a university can have on sustainable
development, we take pride in our efforts and in what we
have achieved so far in building a just and sustainable
future.
Sustainability and the SDGs 2022 – 3
