Close to a hundred researchers, students and partners gathered at the University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business (GSB) at the V&A Waterfront from 28 to 30 January for the BIOGRIP 2026 Conference.
The conference provided a window into how shared scientific infrastructure is shaping South Africa’s response to some of its most pressing environmental challenges.
Hosted by the Biogeochemistry Research Infrastructure Platform (BIOGRIP), the conference brought together BIOGRIP-funded platforms across UCT, Stellenbosch University, the University of the Free State and North-West University, alongside collaborators from other universities and industry. Over two and a half days,…
The Battle of Isandlwana: A significant battle during the Anglo-Zulu War, where
Zulu forces defeated British troops in 1879.

Petite Flurry
So I\’m real good friends with this guy named Juan Ted. Now, Juan is a pretty incredible guy. He can steal ANYTHING he wants to. Literally anything. It could be the shirt off your back, the wallet in your pocket, or I\’m even sure he\’d find a way to steal your house (And your spouse too). So anyway, one day Juan and I are sitting around watching TV, and they announced that the hope diamond will not be on display anymore and is now getting moved to an undisclosed location. So as we hear this, Juan says \”I\’m gonna steal it\”. Now I know how good Juan is at this kind of stuff, so I just tell him good luck and he goes on his way. Eventually he narrows his search down to a small cave in South Africa. When Juan gets there, he doesn\’t see any guards or anything outside the cave, so he just walks in assuming he was wrong about where the diamond was. He wanders around for a while until he sees a long lit hallway with the hope diamond at the end of it. Confident in his abilities, he strolls over to the diamond and picks it up before realizing its a trap! Suddenly, red lights flashed, armed men came running out, sirens went off. You could hear one of the men say under his breath \”We finally caught Juan Ted.\” But Juan, being the best thief in the world, said \”Not quite. On the count of three, I will disappear.\” As the men looked around confused, Juan began to count. \”Uno. Dos.\” And he disappeared without a tres.
Doz Killer
Some lions just escaped a nature reserve in South Africa
They were rejected from their group.
They could maybe ask to be let in the group again
But their pride wouldn\’t let them.