UCT has a site licence for MATLAB and Simulink. Both applications are available for all staff and students for download and use on your computer, on your mobile devices and via the online portal..
MATLAB – the language of technical computing – is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a graphical environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain dynamic and embedded systems.
The software is developed by MathWorks, which produces nearly 100 additional products for specialised tasks such as data analysis and image processing.
Together, MATLAB and Simulink form the basis of a powerful package designed to enhance and enable research in fields such as engineering, science, and economics.
All staff, researchers, and students are eligible to download and install the software on their personal or UCT computers, as well as mobile devices. MATLAB and Simulink Online are versions of the software that can be accessed on a computer using any browser, eliminating the need to download the software. The MATLAB Mobile app allows access to the programming tools via a smart phone or tablet.
Already using MathWorks products?
If you are already have the MathWorks products, all you need to do is reactivate your licence.
New to MathWorks: How to download and install the software
Download the Installer
- Go to the UCT MATLAB Portal. Under the Get MATLAB and Simulink section, select ‘Sign in to get started’.
- Log in to your MathWorks account.
- Click the Download button for the current release. (You can also download previous releases here.)
- Choose a supported platform and download the installer.
Install and Activate
- Run the Installer.
- In the installer, select Log in with a MathWorks Account and follow the online instructions.
- When prompted, select the Academic – Total Headcount licence labelled Individual.
- Select the products you want to download and install.
- After downloading and installing your products, keep the Activate MATLAB checkbox selected then click Next.
- Follow the prompts to activate MATLAB.
If you’re having trouble with the process, please contact MathWorks Installation Support.
Features and benefits of MATLAB and Simulink
There are other products that offer features like those found in MATLAB and Simulink, such as Scilab. However, MATLAB and Simulink provide a much fuller and more powerful set of features. For a full overview of the tools you will have access to, visit the MathWorks website for information.
MATLAB and Simulink Toolboxes
MATLAB provides nearly 100 tools and libraries that work together seamlessly. UCT academic staff have said: “Developing algorithms in MATLAB is 10 times faster and more robust. The libraries and toolboxes are 100% reliable, integrated, and commercially validated.”
Simulink is used to model and simulate control algorithms, signal processing algorithms and physical systems, as well as deploy to embedded systems while remaining in a single environment.
The MATLAB & Simulink Apps
These are interactive applications that combine direct access to large collections of algorithms with immediate visual feedback. They allow research teams to quickly start research projects as well as compare alternative solutions to a problem without leaving the familiar MATLAB environment. There are also standalone applications that run outside of MATLAB and can be used by end-users without pre-existing MATLAB knowledge.
Teaching and learning features
MAOTS: Interactive Online courses that provide students with MATLAB skills independently of their studies, thus allowing quick ramp up of programming skills across multiple years of study.
Grader: A tool that is integrated in an LMS, which accompanies students in the study of MATLAB itself or in the use of MATLAB to solve a specific class of problems.
The Live Editor: A notebook that enables a way of capturing lectures, study notes and assignments in MATLAB with the use of programming tools alongside rich text formatting options.
Help and documentation
There is a massive library built, maintained, and updated by domain experts and researchers to provide documentation on all licencing, algorithms, and functions that exist in MATLAB and Simulink. This includes example files to help researchers get started with their work without having to recreate workflows from scratch.
There is also a dedicated technical team for academic users, providing technical support, helping lecturers with curriculum integration, and supporting research teams.
Free training
For students:
Students who need to learn the basics can access free, self-paced training to get started in less than 2 hours via MATLAB Onramp. They can also access up to 80 hours of course material through the MathWorks portal. To access this, log in and select Learn MATLAB.
The following courses are also available on LinkedIn Learning:
For teaching:
Course material is available through the portal, to help you teach your students. This can be used as-is or modified for your own curriculum.
To access this, log in and select Teach with MATLAB.
From MathWorks and ICTS training:
You can also ake advantage of the dedicated training and demos that MathWorks and ICTS Training is offering to staff and researchers. Sessions will be announced to campus and will cover the products and teaching students to use them.
What would you like to learn?
Please complete this survey to let us know what interests you. The upcoming sessions will be designed around your feedback, so be sure to participate!
Some of the available topics include:
- Introduction to MATLAB and Simulink
- Introduction to Simscape
- Teaching with MATLAB: Live Scripts and Online Trainings
- Teaching with MATLAB: MATLAB Grader
- MATLAB Hardware Projects, MATLAB Apps and Virtual Labs
- Learning MATLAB and Career Path –path toward your future!
- Teaching AI with MATLAB
- Train a Humanoid Walker with MATLAB & Simulink
- Data analysis and Predictive Maintenance with MATLAB and Simulink
- Geophysics with MATLAB: Sea Ice Visualizations & Signal Processing of Earthquakes
- Image Processing & Computer Vision with MATLAB
- Differential Equations and Linear Algebra
Additional resources
- MATLAB Academic Online Training Suite – Interactive self-paced online courses.
- MATLAB Online – Instant access to MATLAB from a web browser.
- MATLAB Mobile- Evaluate MATLAB commands, create and edit files, visualize data, and view results – all from your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
- Videos and Webinars – Search for videos by application or product to learn about the vast capabilities and uses of MATLAB & Simulink.
- MATLAB Examples – A collection of free and reusable code plus examples on how to use MATLAB & Simulink.
- MATLAB Grader – Automatically grade MATLAB code and run your problems in any learning environment.