8 uct is a major beneficiary of funding from the national research foundation and its technology and human resources for industry programme (thrip), a venture promoting partnerships between industry and research institutions. a dedicated office for research and innovation helps to position uct as a major global site for research. it handles all aspects of grant applications, contracts, consultancy work, innovation and commercialization, and intellectual property rights. in addition, the office for postgraduate studies manages general postgraduate policies and systems, postgraduate scholarships and awards to ensure that your experience as a postgraduate student is substantive and enriching. in a world where national boundaries are blurring, research is becoming global. researchers and postgraduate students are consciously seeking the best partners to bring complementary perspectives to the complex research challenges of today and uct is equipping itself to be the first--choice partner for such continental and international collaborations. to join uct is to become a member of the top community of scholars in africa with extensive global networks. some key facts as a research--led university, uct has a vibrant and productive postgraduate student body. in 2013, just under 4,000 master s and over 1,300 doctoral students enrolled for postgraduate studies. in addition, with almost 300 postdoctoral fellows, uct has the highest number of postdoctoral fellows of any university in africa. postgraduate students are an indispensable part of any university s research effort and uct has steadily increased its financial support for postgraduate studies. fellowships administered to postdoctoral research fellows exceed r52 million and postgraduate students receive bursaries of a total of over r159 million. all this makes uct an excellent place for you to do postgraduate work. the university is committed to making your experience at uct an enriching and productive one. some quick numbers (2012): total number of students 25,864 number of international students 4892 total number of postgraduate students 8,249 number of international postgraduate students 2004 total number of master s students 4,093 total number of doctoral students 1,391 total number of postdoctoral research fellows 282 number of academic staff members over 2,000 percentage of staff members with phds 67% number of nrf a--rated researchers 33 number of nrf rated researchers 415 number of peer--reviewed research publications 2,500 number of sarchi research chairs 33 number of nrf/dst centres of excellence and competence centres 3 number of co--hosted nodes of centres of excellence 1 number of formally constituted research groupings 71 total amount of research income total value of postgraduate scholarships and bursaries awarded postdoctoral research funding international students and partnerships r943 million r159 million r52 million the university s relationship with institutions and organisations across the globe plays an important role in fostering our engagement with the international research community. such relationship--building happens in a variety of ways, including proactive participation in formally structured networks as well as formal agreements with strategically selected international partners. internationalisation is reflected in the university s mission statement, strategic plan and policies. the university of cape town is part of the worldwide universities network (wun), a consortium of 19--leading research institutions from around the world. in addition to facilitating student and staff exchanges, the wun global challenges consist of a number of collaborative research activities -- each involving a member of wun and other world--leading academic partners. as a postgraduate student at uct, you are able to spend time with fellow research collaborators at partner universities throughout the world. the map indicates worldwide research collaboration (number of institutions) with uct, the international academic programmes office (iapo) provides specialist services for international students and postdoctoral fellows. these include a pre--registration service, assisting students with immigration issues, producing information booklets and pamphlets specifically for international students, liaising with the department of home affairs regarding immigration legislation and compliance, and maintaining links with embassies and donor organizations that fund international students. see section on student support and resources for further services offered by iapo. in addition, iapo facilitates opportunities for uct students and staff members to experience academic life at international partner universities through mobility programmes. iapo has agreements 7