Resources

The UCT High Performance Computing Facility provides a reliable, scalable and economic computing facility to UCT’s researchers. UCT HPC is an affordable and environmentally friendly means of granting researchers access to computing resources.

The Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) was launched in 2015 as a partnership of South African universities and industry. It was created in response to the emerging challenge of the new era of big data in astronomy. Together, the partner universities (UCT, the University of Pretoria and the University of the Western Cape) established a computational facility that is data-centric and based on cloud technology. This is called the ilifu Facility, which was designed specifically for data-intensive computation in astronomy with a focus on the large science programmes of the South African MeerKAT radio telescope, which is a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array. The facility prioritises MeerKAT projects that are led by or include significant participation by researchers from South Africa belonging to one of the IDIA partner institutions. 

MeerKAT Large Projects with participation from IDIA currently include LADUMA, MIGHTEE, MONGHOOSE, Fornax, ThunderKAT and the related MeerLICHT project. It is open for use by large survey projects from South Africa outside of IDIA and to international collaborators, subject to agreement and provision of resources.

Visit the IDIA website to find out more.

During 2016, UCT led a consortium of institutions in the Western Cape to put in a bid to the National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System (NICIS), supported by the Department of Science and Technology with a goal to build a data-intensive research facility in the Western Cape that would cater explicitly to the needs of researchers working in astronomy and bioinformatics – two areas in which universities in the Western Cape have a strong international presence. The bid was successful; and today, this project is known as ‘Ilifu’ (‘cloud’, in isiXhosa).

Astronomy and bioinformatics are amongst the sciences with the greatest challenges of data intensity. In astronomy, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) drives one of the most significant big-data challenges of the coming decade. Biomedical and other biological research is rapidly adopting high-throughput technologies, driving a growing demand in bioinformatics for expertise and facilities for big data management, storage and analysis. New modalities and technologies are required to empower research and discovery in this data-intensive era, and research organisations and national communities that do not rise to this challenge will be marginalised.

Ilifu addresses the need for support in data-intensive research in South Africa, and is intended to be a research tool that enables South African researchers at partner organisations to be world leaders in the strategic science domains of astronomy and bioinformatics. It is made up of a consortium of Western Cape institutions that established and operate a data-centric, high-performance computing facility for data-intensive research. UCT is the lead institute, and partner institutions are the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Stellenbosch University, Sol Plaatje University, South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO, formerly SKA South Africa), and the University of the Western Cape. 

Learn more on the Ilifu website. 

Virtual machines abstract underlying hardware to emulate multiple independent operating systems on a single host, creating an environment where those multiple systems can coexist. These software-based emulations of physical computers can create a dynamic and flexible computing environment, allowing for multiple operating systems and applications to be run on a single physical host, which enables efficient resource utilisation as well as an enhanced computing experience. 

We have (limited) capabilities to accommodate workloads that are not suitable for the UCT HPC, and while we do not currently have a fixed pricing structure for virtual machines for research, all requests are handled individually. Please log an eResearch Request for a quote. 

UCT is a partner in the REDCap Consortium, and UCT researchers can benefit from the broad range of data collection functionality that REDCap offers. At its most simple, REDCap is a web-based interface that empowers researchers to take control of their data collection work. REDCap is a neutral data collection platform, able to capture any type of data, for any purpose.

You can access REDcap with your valid UCT login details at REDcap.uct.ac.za. You can also find more information about the platform and request assitance at redcap@uct.ac.za. 

 iThenticate is a leading provider of professional plagiarism detection and prevention technology used worldwide by scholarly publishers and research institutions to ensure the orginality of written work before publication. This is an online web-based system that can be used by researchers at UCT. Researchers and institutions can feel confident that their academic reputation will be protected.

All UCT staff are able to log into iThenticate directly, using their network credentials, and all support queries can be logged directly with the Research Systems Support team by completing the form in the link provided.

Visit the iThenticate website for more information and resources.

As research contracts are signed and the number of postgraduates and postdoctoral fellows continues to grow each year, UCT continues to increase our publication count and attract more donations and funding. At the same time, the business of research management is rapidly changing with the exponential growth of big data, open access and international collaboration and universities face additional challenges as governments restrict research funding and donors demand more from research groups. It is clear that supporting the research enterprise of a university is becoming an increasingly complex task. In order to remain on top of our game and continue to make our mark both locally and internationally, UCT has implemented an electronic research administration (eRA) system.

The eRA is a ‘one-stop shop’ to manage and track the administrative workflow within a project lifecycle and beyond. The software guides researchers from the point where an idea is born and a funding opportunity identified, through to ethics approval and post-publication. It aims to streamline and automate workflows, where all parties involved (including finance and research contracts) are automatically notified of a project application coming their way. It also gives researchers the opportunity to track their applications through the automated process, reducing the risk of an application lying unseen in an inbox, and it enables researchers to keep on top of their contract compliance requirements. Through its online portal, researchers can create and manage their CV which they can draw on to apply for grants and funding and use to create a publicly visible profile. 

Find out more about eRA or Login to ERA.

The UCT Digital Library Services (DLS) team offer a wealth of experience and expertise in Digital Scholarship and Research Data Services at UCT. Their services include ZivaHub, UCT DMP, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Support, and digitisation.

 Increasingly, funding bodies mandate the submission of a Data Management Plan (DMP) to ensure that data can be preserved and shared. By managing your data through a plan, you make it easier to understand the details and procedures relating to your data and data collection throughout the life cycle of the project.

UCT DMP has been developed to help UCT researchers write data management plans. The tool assists with DMP creation by providing questions related to the data and the research life-cycle and gives tips to answering them. There are a number of DMP templates available in UCT DMP, which help with the requirements of specific funders, departments or projects depending on discipline.

UCT DMP can be accessed with UCT credentials.