South Africa: VC Shares Insights On UCT's Adoption of AI

What the report says

The University of Cape Town’s vice-chancellor, Professor Mosa Moshabela, used a session at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit in Cape Town to outline how the university is adjusting to artificial intelligence in teaching and learning. The summit, which is being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, is co-hosted by UCT and the University of Bristol. The discussion was part of a broader panel on how universities can adapt to the AI era and prepare students for changing job markets.

According to UCT, the university has decided that all students should be trained to use AI, though at different levels depending on their studies. Moshabela said the institution initially discouraged AI use in academic work and relied on detection tools to identify it, but has now turned those tools off. He said the focus has shifted toward helping students use AI appropriately rather than trying to block it.

Moshabela also described AI as a partner in education and said UCT wants students to build skills that will remain useful after graduation. He added that access to AI should extend beyond campus through the university’s AI initiative, which aims to support research and develop tools with public value. The remarks reflect a wider debate in higher education about how to balance academic integrity, innovation and unequal access to expensive technology.