Home | Neuroscience Institute

Master of Neuroscience Applications for 2026 will likely open in Aug '25!

We are seeking applications from students from diverse academic disciplines for this new Master's course, which prioritizes interdisciplinarity!

Our vision

Our vision is of an Africa where people achieve their full potential through brain health.

By addressing existing knowledge gaps and strengthening African research networks, we seek solutions to African challenges and work to ensure that African priorities are represented in global neuroscience.

Training and capacity development

We strive to build research capacity nationally and internationally, and grow the next generation of neuroscience researchers on both the clinical and basic neuroscience career tracks.

Advocacy and engagement

We follow a socially-responsive approach, using advocacy, engagement and outreach to extend our impact to and beyond the scientific community, to industry, government and society more broadly.

NI Honours student bridging the gap between upper campus and the health sciences

Blessing Gumbu, one of the NI's Honours students this year, wins a Student Leader Award at a recent ceremony celebrating contributions in community, social justice, health and media.

Meet the neuroscience star who’s using tech to decode the brain

Highlighting the hard-earned accolades of 2024 NI hons student, Simamkele Bongo. Looking forward to the, no doubt, inspired contributions he will make to computational neuroscience in his future MSc in the Raimondo Lab! Well done Simamkele!

Cultivating the next wave of neuroscientists

The ABC team and other NI members inspired Grade 7 learners from Masiphumelele and Impendulo primary schools as well as grade 10 & 11's from Sinako Highschool in Khayelitsha for their annual Brain Awareness Week public engagement.

Missed the NI's Hot Topics at UCT's Summer School? Fear not!

Find the recordings of the NI's Summer School lectures, if you missed out, and learn about everything from the 'neuroscience of forgiveness' to 'psilocybin as a therapeutic agent' to an 'overview of dementia'!

Xhosa Classes for all levels

learning to speak Xhosa in community.

12 March 2024 - 16 April 2026 Read more

Bioethics Lecture: How placebos challenge the foundations and ethics of Medicine

How placebos challenge the foundations and ethics of Medicine - Prof Dien Ho (Director of the Center for Health Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and Healthcare Ethics Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, USA)

23 April 2025 Read more

Foundational AI Symposium

A multidisciplinary event exploring ideas relating to Foundational AI. This symposium will feature insightful 15-minute talks spanning a broad range of topics across several UCT Departments.

24 April 2025 Read more

The Basics of the Commandline and High Performance Systems workshop

A 1-hour online workshop run every 2nd friday (9-10am) that will be useful for those using Neuroimaging software such as FreeSurfer and AFNI.

15 March 2024 - 10 April 2026 Read more