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Sarah Wild South Africa would dedicate R128,7-million to international co-operation and relations to secure partnerships in the international domain and create research opportunities for its researchers, Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor told a media briefing in Cape Town on 16 May 2017. A major reason for this was to make up for government funding…
The National Survey of Research and Experimental Development is a delicious smorgasbord of numbers, a snapshot of South Africa’s National System of Innovation. For those who don’t have the time to read the report (or have an aversion to deciphering the numbers), here are the highlights: 1. In 2014-15, South Africa spent R29.345-billion on research…
Analysis On paper, South Africa’s science and technology budget continues to edge up. On Wednesday, finance minister Pravin Gordhan delivered his national budget to Parliament, sharing out the country’s R1.56-trillion. The department of science and technology’s budget’s looks set to continue to increase: From R7,44-billion in 2015-16, and R7,43-billion in 2016-17, it will be hitting…
.@dstgovza unveils SA research infrastructure roadmap, first of its kind on the continent 1/20 — Sarah Wild (@sarahemilywild) October 4, 2016 “World-class research infrastructure is the basis for building competitive knowledge-based activities,” @dstgovza minister Pandor said 2/20 — Sarah Wild (@sarahemilywild) October 4, 2016 Total budget for 1st five years = R1.97bn, but only years…
South Africa and Australia have more in common than clear blue skies, rugby and a penchant for burning meat on an open fire. The two countries – whose economies were founded on the mineral resources under the soil and which are separated from European, Asian and North American markets by thousands of kilometres – also…
THE room has not changed in four years: frosted glass walls enclosing an oval table. A Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) CEO is laying out his plans for the future. Again. “When I arrived, I was the sixth CEO in five years; now I’m the sixth CEO in six years,” says Barlow Manilal. “TIA really needed…
More than 1,200 South African academics are warning that the country’s university system is at a tipping point as a result of chronic underfunding. The researchers from 18 South African universities have signed an open letter to the president Jacob Zuma, higher education and training minister Blade Nzimande and finance minister Pravin Gordhan. The letter,…
South Africa’s latest R&D figures were slipped into the public domain last week, with none of the fanfare of previous years. It is easy to understand why. Science and technology minister Naledi Pandor has been pushing increased investment in research and development, and these figures seem to show that no one is listening. The hopeful possibility is that…
For every R1 invested in the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), industry had invested R2, Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said in Cape Town on Wednesday. The SARChI, established in 2005, aims to address the shortage of postgraduate supervisors and increase the country’s research output. Research chairs are exempt from the teaching requirements…