Public resources (lifelong learning) | University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town remains deeply committed to lifelong learning and ensuring that knowledge is open to all. Beyond its formal degree programmes, UCT offers several free resources and no-cost learning opportunities for those outside its regular student body — including open curricula, public lectures, open-access publications, and learning platforms. These initiatives are designed to empower individuals from across society, enhance skills and understanding, and deepen engagement with academic and civic life.

OpenUCT

OpenUCT is an institutional repository that makes theses, dissertations, journal articles, book chapters, technical & research reports, and open educational resources freely available; many full-text scholarly outputs. This is available to researchers, practitioners, students, lifelong learners who want to access academic knowledge without cost.

UCT Online High School free curriculum

The UCT Online High School free curriculum provides free access to CAPS-aligned online education material: interactive notes, videos, simulations, practice assignments and quizzes; self-paced learning. Aimed at learners, teachers, parents anywhere in South Africa interested in high school content; does not include exams or direct teacher support for free version.

UCT Libraries: Free open educational resources (OER) and open access journals

Via UCT Libraries and its Open Scholarship and OpenUCT repositories, UCT provides free access to publications and open textbooks, and supports Creative Commons licensing resources. This access is for anyone with internet access; especially useful for independent learners, researchers, NGOs.

UCT Knowledge Co-op

The Knowledge Co-op is UCT’s programme that allows community organisations to define development challenges. At the same time it provides an opportunity for academics and students to engage with society and to apply their knowledge to address the needs of communities. While not always framed as a “course”, this is a free knowledge/resource sharing mechanism. The Knowledge Co-op epitomises social responsiveness. It allows external communities to access the university’s knowledge, skills, resources and professional expertise and facilitates collaboration with community partners to address the development challenges they identify and define. Participating students and academics gain work experience, advance the quality of their research, and contribute to local communities.

Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture Series

The Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture series was established to enable anyone in the community, whether they are connected to the university or not, to have the benefit of hearing first-hand from academics, researchers and innovators from South Africa, but particularly from those around the world, who have distinguished themselves in their areas of expertise. The “VC Open Lecture Series” is free to the public. 20 August 2024: lecture by Professor Joachim Frank on Cryo-electron microscopy, a new foundation for molecular medicine and drug design

CopyrightX: UCT (February – April 2024)

CopyrightX is an online short course that explored the current law of copyright in South Africa; the impact of that law on art, entertainment, and industry; and the ongoing debates concerning how the law should be reformed, also in the context of artificial intelligence.

CopyrightX:UCT is a member of the CopyrightX Community, a network of affiliated courses offered by several universities and other institutions each year, originally developed by Harvard Law School. CopyrightX:UCT consists of the Harvard pre-recorded lectures, accompanied by reading materials relating to U.S. and South African copyright law. Weekly online seminars will more closely analyse South African copyright law. This course will be of interest to anyone concerned or faced with copyright law, including librarians, artists, publishers or law students.

This course was offered for free as a weekly course/seminar in evenings exploring South African copyright law. Open to any interested person.

Free/Public lectures and open lectures

The 2024 UCT Summer School programme was open to everyone regardless of educational qualifications or age. Lectures are non-degree, with no examinations.

A free Summer School 2024 lecture, the Annual Bongani Mayosi Memorial Lecture by Dr Vuyane Mhlomi, was held on 26 January 2024.

Inspiring Young Minds

On 22 June 2024, the Inspiring Young Minds Summer School programme was held at the Masiphumelele Library in collaboration with IkamvaYouth, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing educational support to under-resourced communities. Sponsored by Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages as part of their funding of the UCT Lifelong Learning Programme, the event featured two engaging lectures designed to inspire and educate about 190 high school learners on the subjects of anaesthesia and astronomy.

Medical Biochemist and retired Professor of Surgical Research at the University of Cape Town, Professor Anwar Mall, explored the evolution of anaesthesia, its impact on modern medicine, and the various career opportunities in the field. His insights provided students with a comprehensive understanding of this critical medical advancement.

Dr Abhisek Mohapatra, a postdoctoral research fellow at UCT’s Department of Astronomy discussed careers and discoveries in astronomy, highlighting recent achievements by world-renowned observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and South Africa’s own MeerKAT.

The Saturday class epitomised the spirit embedded in Masiphumelele’s name – to strive for success. Despite facing significant socio-economic challenges, through such career guidance and educational support, young learners have the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and inspiration to pursue their dreams.

UCT Inaugural lecture series 2024

Inaugural lectures are a central part of university academic life and are free to the public. These events are held to commemorate the inaugural lecturer’s appointment to full professorship. They provide a platform for the academic to present the body of research that they have been focusing on during their career, while also giving UCT the opportunity to showcase its academics and share their research with members of the wider university community and the general public in an accessible way.

Public lectures in 2024

Date	Lecturer	Title
1 February	Prof Lebogang Ramma (Audiology)	“Hearing the Call - Trading Epistemic Curiosity for Contextual Relevance in Audiology”
14 March	Prof Susan Cleary	“Bending the arc towards health equity”
7 May	Prof Mohamed Paleker	“The 'One-Shotter'–'Repeat-Player' dichotomy in the South African civil justice system: Transformative steps to bridge the gap”
9 May	Prof Lisa Seymour	“Calling for a systems approach to technology in organisations”
14 May	Prof Lesley Green	“From Homo Economicus to Homo Sedimenta: Learning from the Failed Impact Assessments for Cabo Delgado’s Offshore Gas Projects, Mozambique”
14 August	Prof Carolyn McKinney	“How are we failing our children? Language and exclusion in schooling”
22 August	Prof Catherine Orrell	“Toward effective HIV treatment in South Africa – injustice, clinical pharmacology and adherence”
23 August	Prof Sa’diyya Shaikh	“Radical Critical Fidelity: Barzakhi Journeys in Islamic Feminism”
28 August	Prof Dizu Plaatjies	“My Journey” (traditional African music, musical bow-making; cultural heritage)
29 August	Prof Ameeta Jaga	“Balancing acts: Mothering, womanhood and employment”
11 September	Prof Floretta Boonzaier	“Finding hope and healing while researching violence: Decolonial feminist explorations into gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide”
19 September	Prof Gregory Smith	“The Marriage of Organometallic Chemistry – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue”
22 October	Prof Megan Becker	“Why Minerals Matter: The Role of Mineralogy in the Pursuit of Sustainability”
23 October	Prof Jay Pather	“Shifting spaces, tilting time: art and art education in a society that aches for transformation”
28 November	Prof Sithombo Maqungo	“Been there, fixed that, presented there and published that. Is this all there is to the life of an academic trauma surgeon?”