22 January 2026

Thursday 22–Friday 23 January 9.15

The first lecture will look at how optical telescopes work and how new technology has revolutionised their construction, operation and scientific abilities. The second lecture goes beyond the visible, looking at the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescopes near Carnarvon, South Africa, the James Webb Space Telescope which observes in the infra-red to see back to the time of the formation of the first stars after the Big Bang thirteen billion years ago, and gamma-ray telescopes that observe the biggest explosions since the Big Bang.

Thursday 22–Friday 23 January 9.15 am

We are approaching a world where autonomous AI 3will routinely act on our behalf. As AI agents become integrated into our lives, questions arise: how can we ensure these agents align with human values, respect social norms, and prioritise cooperation? This course explores how autonomous AI agents will impact on various sectors, including healthcare, finance, education and everyday interactions and discuss possibilities and potential risks, as well as the urgent need to design AI systems that actively cooperate with humans and each other, adhering closely to our shared ethical standards.

What if everything you believed about a story was wrong? In a world where headlines scream louder than facts and viral posts outrun the truth, knowing how to spot fake news is it is essential. In this honest and eye-opening lecture Paula Slier unpacks the chaos of today’s information landscape. From doctored images to AI-generated lies, she explores how misinformation is created, why it spreads so easily, and what it means for how we see the world. This lecture it will help you understand the systems behind fake news.

The five-rayed echinoderms have adopted a unique, otherworldly body plan to face the challenges posed by living in the sea, as all other major animal groups are bilaterally symmetrical. They are the only group of animals that lives exclusively in the oceans, with no freshwater or terrestrial representatives. Although they have a standardised body plan, the starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, bristle stars, basket stars and sea lilies vary greatly in form and function. How can an animal with no brain or blood survive the predators in the ocean?

Thursday 22–Friday 23 January 1.00 pm

Irma Stern is the most famous twentieth-century South African artist. Given that nearly 150 years have passed since her birth, and 2026 marks 60 years since she died, why is she still such a compelling personality and artist? The lectures will explore the voice of Stern through her correspondence with friends and colleagues, as well as her writing, and will use specific examples to illustrate her personal and social connections.

This lecture explores HIV, from its virological foundations to the current epidemiological trends and critical policy challenges. Participants will gain a clear understanding of how HIV affects the immune system, the milestones achieved in prevention and treatment, and why recent setbacks such as global funding cuts threaten to reverse progress. Focusing on South Africa, the lecture demystifies complex health data and calls attention to the human stories behind the statistics. Participants will be empowered to challenge stigma, understand the science, and explore their role in building compassionate, resilient communities.

This lecture advocates for the need for a properly curated sound archive, while revealing Nigel’s approach to documentary-making, as well as some of the challenges.
Nigel will share priceless clips from documentaries he made paying tribute to Rashid Lombard, Louis Moholo-Moholo and Feya Faku and others, such as Robbie Jansen, Basil Moses, Zim Ngqawana, Miriam Makeba, The Ngcukana Brothers (Ezra and Duke), Erika Lundi, Hotep Idris Galeta, Mac McKenzie, Sathima Bea Benjamin, Nico Carstens and Dave Leadbetter. You are invited to celebrate the lives of these South African jazz legends.

Thursday 22–Friday 23 January 3.00 pm

When South Africa embraced constitutional democracy by introducing the 1996 Constitution, it did so in a context of a global embrace of the constitutional model. Thirty years after the rise of Modi, Erdogan and Trump – to name a few – reveal a different authoritarian picture.

These lectures will first examine this turn away from constitutional democracy before reflecting on its prospects in South Africa, where in the last election 27% of voters supported anti-constitutional parties.

As a baby, Cassiem was uprooted from his home in India and stripped of his identity. He was shipped to South Africa named Shafik Ahmed and forced into a life of servitude. Against a backdrop of racial prejudice and societal constraints, he forged a path of resilience and ascended from the humblest of schools on the Cape Flats to pioneer the complexities of neurosurgery. His memoir, Parcel Baby, peels back the layers of mystery and deception to reveal the extraordinary life of a man who transformed adversity into triumph.

Meeting place: The Quad outside the Summer School office after which we will go to the Summer House.

This ninety-minute tour will start at the Summer House, take in the Woolsack, the d-school, and then a selection of buildings at the north end of the upper campus.

Please wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a hat and water.

The rule of law is a founding value of our Constitution. Thirty years later, many issues are raised about the current state of the rule of law, and the future of the rule of law. This lecture will address judicial independence at a time of transformation, judicial appointments and their impact on the judiciary, compliance with the Constitution and orders of the courts, law, politics and warfare, the ethical responsibilities of lawyers to courts, the administration of justice and the Constitution, and how to build confidence in the courts.

For the first time in four billion years of life on Earth, we are preparing to expand beyond home, with permanent bases planned for the Moon this decade, as a gateway to Mars and beyond. This lecture explores – within the context of the current era of space exploration – fundamental questions like: Where do we come from? Who are we? And where are we going?