The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) flagship Summer School programme will take place from 19-31 January 2026. The only programme of its kind on the continent, it is open to the public, staff and students. It includes lectures, excursions, campus tours, performances – including by Opera UCT and, for the first time, a ballet.
Hosted by UCT’s Centre for Extra Mural Studies, the 2026 programme is emblematic of outstanding scholarship and intellectual rigour, presented by staff, postgraduate students, past and retired university staff. It also includes thought leaders, authors, luminaries and scholars from South Africa and across the world, many with deep ties to the university.
The programme spans a range of disciplines and topics: literature, art and music; philosophy, politics and history; medicine and science; and language, art and writing courses.
Highlights of the programme include lectures and presentations by Professor Jonny Steinberg, Professor William Gumede, Judge Susannah Cowen, Dr Iraj Abedian, Redi Tlhabi and many others.
Several lectures are free of charge, including a Distinguished Alumni lecture which will be presented by Advocate Geoff Budlender, as well as the annual Professor Stuart John Saunders lecture to be presented by Emeritus Professor Wieland Gevers.
There are In Conversation sessions which include authors Professors Ingrid Fiske and Antjie Krog and Dr Shafik Parker and Professor Anwar Mall.
Emeritus Registrar Hugh Amoore will lead the bespoke campus tours. These free tours tell of the rich history of the campus, its buildings and its people.
Exciting excursions include identification outing to Newlands Forest and the medical school to look at the development of medicines.
Attendees can enjoy the concerts at the Baxter with Grant McClachlan, opera students from the university’s SA College of Music and the Ramon Alexander Trio; a performance by journalist and performer Marianne Thamm; and a ballet choreographed by Mario Gaglione.