VPN Services
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) provides a mechanism whereby a computer outside of the university's trusted network can securely access the university's resources which are normally only available on campus.
You can download and install the VPN client software to connect to the UWC campus network. This will allow you to access internal websites as well as external resources such as Ikamva, Gmail and other websites via the UWC network.
At the moment, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students will incur no data charges if you use sim cards from Cell C, MTN, Telkom or Vodacom when connecting to the vpn. This is also limited to South Africa.
By accessing the UWC network, you agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the UWC ICT policies which can be viewed at https://www.uwc.ac.za/files/files/UWC-Acceptable-Use-policy-_C202103-.pdf By using the vpn service, users acknowledge that they will act in accordance with the guidelines as per the policies. The UWC network and its related information services are made available to authorised users to facilitate their engagement with the UWC Learning and Teaching Programmes.
Please review what you are allowed to access here.
Caution: Please understand that the University of the Western Cape do not bear any responsibility for damages resulting from the installation or malfunction of the software. The vpn service is only to be used for educational purposes and that any abuse of the service will result in your access being revoked.
Note: On most mobile devices, when the screen locks, the vpn connection will disconnect. This is due to a setting on the mobile device which causes the network connection to drop to conserve power.
How to install the VPN Client Software
Click the link below for instructions to install the vpn client software for your operating system.
Note: You can use either uwc-udp or uwc-tcp to connect. We recommend using the uwc-udp connection as this is faster. However, please give uwc-tcp a try if UDP communications cannot be made due to restrictions on the firewall and NAT of your home or business trip destination environment.
Important: When an "Authentication Failed" message is experienced, it means that the username OR password is incorrect. The username and password for the vpn is the same as for Ikamva. The username must not include the @myuwc.ac.za suffix (the suffix is only used when a user logs in to Gmail)