University of Pretoria unveils Campus Catalyst to share the success stories of its alumni
The University of Pretoria (UP) has published the Campus Catalyst, an insightful book highlighting the achievements of its alumni.
The launch event for the new book was held at the University of Pretoria’s Javett Art Centre in Hatfield, and BusinessTech was invited to attend.
This new book ties into the University’s Thrive UP 2038 campaign, a long-term institutional strategy and roadmap that was launched in February 2026.
The Thrive UP 2038 campaign focuses on empowering South Africans by providing the tools they need to succeed, building the economy, and creating a better world.
Campus Catalyst highlights examples of this strategy in action, showcasing how UP alumni are pioneering new technologies and building successful businesses.
“The book we are launching tonight, Campus Catalyst, celebrates these individuals across diverse sectors,” said Francis Petersen, UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal.
“These achievements strengthen our economy while demonstrating to South Africa and the University of Pretoria that our students and staff possess the talent to generate novel thinking and translate it into societal impact.”
Creating Campus Catalyst
The Campus Catalyst book was published to unpack the role universities play in society by sharing tangible examples of successful companies, partnerships, and ventures by UP alumni.
This builds credibility for higher education and ensures that the impressive achievements of the UP alumni aren’t overlooked.
“Universities are generally not very good at storytelling. We have countless remarkable stories to tell, but we often fail to tell them or do not convey them effectively,” said Petersen.
“Hopefully, this book serves as an example of how to tell our story well.”
Success stories
The Campus Catalyst includes 10 notable success stories of alumni who have succeeded in the South African market across a wide range of sectors.
This includes cases such as hearX, a mobile hearing test developed in a UP laboratory that is now the foundation of an international hearing-health technology company.
HearX began as a simple question of whether an affordable smartphone could be turned into a reliable hearing screening device.
To solve this question, the project brought together expertise from UP’s departments of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering.
UP then supported the protection, licensing, and commercialisation of the resulting intellectual property, the hearScreen mobile screening app.
The new app led to the founding of a startup and the development of a suite of digital tools to detect, diagnose, and address hearing loss.
This is just one of the success stories detailed in the Campus Catalyst – the rest of which can be read in the Campus Catalyst book.
Click here to learn more about the University of Pretoria’s Campus Catalyst book.
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