Professor Blade Nzimande, science, technology and innovation minister.
With the latest datasets showing signs of regression in some areas of South Africa’s science, technology and innovation (STI) system, minister professor Blade Nzimande has unveiled 41 new research chairs.
Established through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), research chairs are intended to contribute and support SA’s scientific research and innovation endeavours.
The new cohort is aligned to the priority areas of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation’s (DSTI’s) decadal plan for STI 2022-2032, according to the ministry.
Furthermore, they represent a shift towards building equitable research capacity, enhancing excellence and broadening impact across the country’s public universities, it states.
The selected research chairs hail from the Central University of Technology, Tshwane University of Technology, Walter Sisulu University, University of the Free State, UNISA and University of Limpopo. The focus on areas such as technology innovations, smart and sustainable energy systems, healthcare and tropic ecology.
Speaking at the announcement of the new appointments, Nzimande said: “These research chairs have been deliberately awarded to our historically-disadvantaged institutions, universities of technology, and our new universities, such as Sol Plaatje University, which is being awarded a research chair for the first time in its history.”
The 41 research chairs join the more than 200 that are currently operational in the country’s universities as part of the SARChI initiative, which was started in 2006 by the DSTI and the National Research Foundation.
Research chairs have been established in diverse disciplines of scientific research, including the natural sciences, engineering, the humanities and the social sciences, to date.
Nzimande lauded the progress since the first research chairs were unveiled. “These chairs have been instrumental in moving the needle on our PhD production, helping us reach a point where 52.5% of our permanent academic staff now hold doctoral degrees.
“As you may be aware, historically, research chairs were concentrated at a handful of research-intensive and mainly previously advantaged universities. By awarding 32 of these 41 chairs to black researchers, we are not just changing who does research; we are also changing where that research is done and for whom.”
Nzimande also called for public universities to produce knowledge that responds to national priorities. “Whether you are researching Just Energy Transition, green hydrogen, or data science, your work must be socially responsive. Your research must provide evidence-based solutions for food security, water sanitation and energy challenges in the communities that surround your campuses.”
Nzimande also called on the research chairs to not let their research remain published in journal articles, but to apply that research in real world scenarios for the benefit of the broader population.
“As the minister of science, technology and innovation, I am tired of seeing research that only ends up in journal articles, but never reaches a rural clinic, a local farm or translates into an innovation.
“We expect our chairholders to work together to solve the ‘wicked problems’ of our era: structural poverty, spatial segregation and the impacts of climate change.”
From left: Professor Kammila Naidoo, professor Prinola Govenden, minister Solly Malatsi, professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, professor Refiwe Phaswana-Mafuya and South African National Commission for Unesco Carlton Mukwevho.
Meanwhile, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has secured a Unesco chair and formalised a strategic partnership with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT).
The Unesco chair in cultural inclusivity and equity in digital media in Africa, awarded for the 2026 to 2030 cycle, places UJ among over 1 000 Unesco chairs across 120 countries.
The memorandum of understanding, in partnership with the DCDT, formalises a collaboration to advance digital transformation, policy development and inclusive innovation. It was signed by DCDT minister Solly Malatsi and Mpedi.
Malatsi commented: “The partnership also supports a broader ambition, which is that South Africa’s digital future will not be built by government alone. It will require partnerships across sectors.
“Government brings the public mandate and policy direction. Universities bring with them the research capacity and critical inquiry. Industry brings investment, aid and innovation, while civil society, on the other hand, helps to foster accountability and social legitimacy.”
The chair, held by professor Prinola Govenden in UJ’s faculty of humanities, will focus on addressing digital inclusion, cultural representation and equitable access to knowledge in Africa’s rapidly-evolving digital environment.
It will also examine the impact of the fourth industrial revolution and contribute to policy and governance frameworks, while advancing strategies to counter digital exclusion and the marginalisation of local knowledge systems, according to UJ.
Mpedi stated: “Our Unesco chair will uniquely contribute innovative, empirical research, practical and strategic solutions, as well as policy recommendations for fostering a decolonised and inclusive internet that generally serves all African societies and its users.
“The chair will also uniquely contribute to understanding the digital landscape for both knowledge representation and technical access perspectives, particularly concerning cultural representation, inclusivity and equity in Africa.”
