Message from the Dean

Alison Lewis

Welcome to EBE Talks!

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the EBE Talks, a platform dedicated to showcasing research and innovations related to engineering and the built environment in Africa. As the Dean of the UCT Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE) faculty, I am excited to share this endeavour with colleagues from academia, society and industry, highlighting our pursuit of advancing the development of our continent.

At EBE Talks, we highlight high-impact, peer-reviewed research that has the potential to make a significant impact on society. The research in our faculty spans civil, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering, architecture, planning, geomatics, and construction economics and management. The projects presented here are a snapshot of research done by more than a hundred academic staff members of the faculty, many of them in cooperation with postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers. We look forward to this platform growing and keeping highlighting research aimed at advancing technology, addressing current and future societal challenges, and contributing to a more sustainable future for our planet.

I encourage you to explore EBE Talks and discover the exciting research and innovation taking place in our field. I hope it will serve as a valuable resource for all those interested in advancing the development of engineering and the built environment in Africa.

Thank you for your interest in EBE Talks, and I look forward to your continued engagement.

Sincerely,
Professor Alison Lewis
Dean: UCT Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE)

Aims and scope

The University of Cape Town (UCT) is committed to unleashing knowledge in and for Africa and playing a pivotal role in finding solutions for a more just and sustainable world. This commitment, detailed in the UCT Vision 2030, provides incentives and responsibilities for our researchers at the UCT Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE), who have gained significant reputation – locally, regionally and internationally – for their impactful work on technology development in the engineering sectors and the general built environment.

Traditionally, most researchers at UCT EBE aim to publish their work in leading international research outlets with high-impact factors, such as technical journals and conferences. This strategy of high-impact publishing is also supported in future, based on the conviction that international recognition of our work is proof of research excellence and therefore essential for developing state-of-the-art knowledge-based solutions both in the global and African contexts.

With EBE Talks, we aim to:

  • showcase UCT's research in in engineering and the built environment that provides substantial insights on critical topics and their relevance to industry and society
  • highlight impact and practical relevance of research work at UCT EBE; and
  • increase the visibility and reach of UCT EBE research, making research accessible and tangible not only to fellow researchers but also to students, the local industry and the general public.

The projects on EBE Talks present research output in the form of short videos, abstracts and full, peer-reviewed papers. The projects have been prepared by individual researchers and/or research groups at UCT EBE, who were invited to contribute to this initiative. EBE Talks will be continually expanded with new projects.

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