Dear colleagues,

We have reached the end of the academic year and fast approaching year end.

Like the previous two years, 2022 has been an atypical year – a year of business unusual, to use the catchphrase coined in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We entered the year not yet out of the woods as far as the pandemic was concerned, but gradually emerging from the worst.

Here at the University of Pretoria, where in-person classes resumed while hybrid and online learning and teaching continued, there may have been times when we felt ourselves spread too thin as we sought to offer students the best possible teaching and learning experience, regardless of their location.

All credit to you, the staff of UP for, yet again, showing your resilience, adaptability and willingness to pull together when the going gets tough.

Whether you are an academic or in a professional or administrative support role, your professionalism has helped allay any concerns students had about their own ability to adapt to even more change and succeed.

Despite the challenges associated with the teaching-learning transition, the university’s academic performance has been robust.

In fact, if you consider our recent performance in the university rankings, 2022 has been a particularly good year for us. We have been shooting up the rankings.

According to the 2022 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, released in mid-November, we are now ranked 339 in teaching reputation globally, more than 120 positions higher than in 2021, when we were ranked 461.

Nationally, we are stepping up too. In teaching, we are second in South Africa, compared to third in 2021, and in research, we have moved up from fourth to joint third. This is the best performance we have delivered in five years. Focusing on quality, excellence and transformative impact and not narrowly chasing the rankings, is our strategy.

UP continues to excel in individual disciplines, from law and engineering to veterinary science and chartered accounting. Our accounting students achieved a 99.4% pass rate in SAICA’s initial test of competence exams earlier in 2022 and four of the top 10 candidates were from this university.

Behind such results are high-quality teaching, excellent student support and a commitment to putting our students first. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together in 2022 and eager to see what new heights we can reach in 2023.

But first, let’s rest and recharge. I wish you a peaceful, safe and happy festive season. See you in the new year.

Best regards, 

Professor Tawane Kupe

Vice-Chancellor and Principal