Professor Ulrike Rivett

iCOMMS Founder & Team Leader

I graduated from the Technische Universität München, Germany, in 1994 with a Dipl.-Ing.univ in Land Surveying. I received a scholarship for my PhD studies in the then Department of Land Surveying, today Geomatics Department, at University of Cape Town. In 2002, I was employed in the Department of Civil Engineering and over the last decade my research has focused on the application and use of ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) to support the delivery of basic amenities and services to under-resourced communities. With the changing environment of engineering and a clear recognition of the need to improve the interface between applied science and the understanding of communities, my research has moved away from the traditional engineering space into aspects of society and engineering. The innovative use of existing technologies, in my case mobile phones and other ICTs, offers the opportunity to create a virtual infrastructure between decision makers who require up-to-date and reliable information and stakeholders who can provide this information through appropriate technologies. The need for information cuts across disciplines and my contribution over the last decade has been to connect the dots between the knowledge of specialists and the creation of a solution that offers an innovative approach to existing problems. By introducing ICTs in seemingly unrelated fields, such as the health sector, service delivery and the water sector, I have been able to develop technologies that cross conventional boundaries of knowledge, decision making and stakeholder engagement. I lead the iCOMMS Research Team, which focuses on understanding the use of systems and making them benefit society by engaging proactively with government, municipalities, and rural communities by implementing research findings and increasing impact beyond academic boundaries. In 2015, I moved with the iCOMMS Research Team to the Department of Information Systems in the Commerce Faculty at the University of Cape Town. This move is in line with my research interests in IT/ICT4D and IS.

Research Projects

iCOMMS: 2011 – present: Research Team Leader 

iCOMMS (Information for Community Oriented Municipal Service Delivery) is a research team within the Department of Civil Engineering that was formed in 2011. The focus of the team is to understand the use of information systems in the context of planning and delivering services in under-resourced environments. We believe that mobile technologies and ICT4D applications have created an opportunity to improve the ways in which we collect data, improve information flow and create a workflow that allows priority-based decision making. Our research contributes to developing models for context-based information systems that are appropriate for local and national decision-making.

GeJuSTA:  2022 – Present: Principal Investigator 

Creating pathways for Gender Justice in STEM research in Africa (GeJuSTA) is a multinational project seeking to tackle the problem of underrepresentation of women and the lack of gender analysis in STEM research. Achieving gender justice in STEM fields has remained problematic with much of the masculinist and colonialist concepts driving it. With a network of experienced academics, professionals, and other community partners, this project seeks to use a gender transformative approach, rooted in African feminism, ethics of care and ubuntu, to influence policy by identifying barriers and creatively diversifying the framing of STEM and STEA+M pedagogies.

GeDIA: 2019 – 2021: Co-Investigator  

Gender Equality is a Sustainable Development Goal in itself (SDG 5) and also has been shown to have significant secondary effects on the achievement of other development goals. Thus, women and men stand to gain from more gender-equal societies, yet in the areas of digital innovation, digital literacy and information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) gender equality is often an afterthought. Women are frequently framed as "hard-to-reach", relatively passive participants who need special encouragement to be included.

GeDIA (Gender-Just Digital Innovation in Africa) aimed to i) increase advocacy for gender equality and equal participation in public life by leveraging Data Science, Data Visualisation and Social Media Campaigning, ii) explore ways to ensure fair access to education and careers in IT and Data Science for women and girls and iii) examine co-design processes for digital-related services and develop co-design methodologies that are more gender-just and participatory.

Mozambique – World Bank Project: 2012: Consultant 

This project formed part of a World Bank Project in Mozambique with CRA, the service and price regulatory authority for the water sector in Mozambique. iCOMMS was responsible for customised training on ICT in the water and sanitation sector for stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds. The objective of the workshops was to build capacity within the sector in order to use ICTs more effectively in regulatory work. The overall intention of the project was to develop an updated ICT system for small-town water supply operations and regulations. The programme involved aspects such as an introduction to the concepts of ICT, a summary of international and African experiences on the use of ICTs and the assessment of options for an ICT system targeted for small towns.

Aquatest: 2006 – 2012: Prizncipal Investigator, water quality management tools 

This was a collaborative effort to investigate the development of a low-cost water quality test and associated management systems for use in developing countries and in disasters/emergencies. Contaminated drinking water remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, with 1.8 million deaths per year being attributed to water-borne disease. In addition, following major disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes, many deaths result not from the disaster itself but from subsequent outbreaks of disease caused by contaminated drinking water. Existing water tests are largely designed for use in developed countries and not in situations where laboratory infrastructure, resources and trained personnel are lacking. iCOMMS contribution to the project is the development of a management system for the collected water quality information using cellular technology. The data management, communication, and reporting systems developed by UCT have been tested in South Africa, Mozambique, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Aquatest research consortium was led by the University of Bristol and includes the University of California Berkeley, PATH, WHO, the Aquaya Institute, the Health Protection Agency, the University of Cape Town, the University of Southampton and the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. The project has received a US $13 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Preparatory research on Aquatest was funded by the European Union’s FP6: Global Change and Ecosystems Programme.

Lesotho – World Bank Project: 2009: Consultant 

This project was part of a World Bank initiative in the transport sector of Lesotho. The main aspect was to develop ICT systems with a particular focus on GIS/GPS setups to monitor road infrastructure and public transport. iCOMMS was responsible for facilitating the discussions between clients/users and the technical development team. iCOMMS also developed, in collaboration with the client, a strategy for GPS implementation and GIS sustainability and maintenance.

Water Research Council – Greywater Management: 2003 – 2005: Collaborative Researcher 

This project investigated the management of greywater as a potential additional water source. With an increasing number of households receiving basic water and sanitation, the amount of greywater is continuously increasing. This investigation looked into the disposal of greywater, particularly within the framework of re-usability. The project was a comprehensive study into the management of greywater in the non-sewered areas in South Africa with a view to developing strategic options for best practice. The project was funded by the Water Research Commission.

Cell-Life: 2000 – present: Founder and Board Member 

Cell-Life started in 2000 to investigate the use of ICTs as a method to collect real-time data on HIV/AIDS. Little or no data existed to allow appropriate planning and decision making with regards to the availability of basic amenities, health services and other support mechanisms for HIV+ people in South Africa. A separate concern was the fact that existing data collection methods were too expensive and time consuming. The team developed simple cellphone menus for medical staff and home-based carers for collecting real-time data in the most remote locations. The system created a template for telemedicine and m-health initiatives in developing countries. The project attracted substantial funding from a number of organisations. In 2006 the not-for-profit organisation Cell-Life was founded to implement the technologies and support the efforts of government and the civil society sector.

Research Grants, Awards, & Funding

  • 2022: IDRC Funding, 1 207 0000(CAD)  
  • WRC Funding, R500,000 for 2015/2016
  • 2015: NRF Community Engagement Grant
  • 2014: World Bank Grant
  • 2012: WRC Funding, R900 000 for 2013/2014
  • 2010: PERC Project UCT, R150 000
  • 2008: Aquatest Project: US$1.2million for cellphone application development
  • 2007: Impumelelo Award for technological Innovation Cell-Life
  • 2006 European Union Framework 6: €500 000 for Development of Aquatest, Collaborative Project with University of Bristol, UK – one year project
  • 2006 Nokia Mobility Award, Finalist
  • 2005 Doris Duke Foundation: R2million for Development of Pharmacy Tool for Adherence Measure, collaborative project with the Desmond Tutu HIV Research Centre
  • 2005 & 2006 TT100: Top Technology 100; Cell-Life Winner in the Category: Most Noteworthy Achiever
  • 2005 Women in Science and Technology, Runner Up in the Category: Best Emerging Woman Scientist
  • 2005 Elton John Foundation: R2 million for implementation of Cell-Life technology over a three-year period
  • 2005 THRIP: R400 000
  • 2004 Vodacom Foundation Grant: R 800 000
  • 2003 Vodacom Foundation Grant: R 2 million
  • 2002 Merit Award Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment
  • Awarded DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) scholarship from 1997 – 1999 for PhD studies at the University of Cape Town