Strategic initiativesSignature themes |
The University of Cape Town's framework for signature themes, approved in December 2004, builds on existing research strengths while developing standards and capacity in prioritised areas.
Status of signature themes
At present UCT has five signature themes that were selected after a rigorous proposal-driven process and reviews by external experts in the relevant fields. The publicity and seed funding given to the themes have a gearing effect on access to large external grants and help attract postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows to areas of novel interdisciplinarity. As all the themes have taproots into the curricula they serve as mechanisms to build critical mass in areas of need. The themes undergo regular reviews to assess how well they are achieving their goals and depending on the outcome either receive another round of seed funding; become self-sustainable groupings of excellence or are disestablished.
Besides operating as instruments for large-scale research, the themes are proving to be effective instruments of transformation, not only in terms of growing diversity in the profile of participating staff and students but also in terms of innovative, multi-disciplinary approaches to address the complexity of today's multi-faceted research questions.
