Bigger push for a transformed research community
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr Blade Nzimande, says there is still much to be done to change the demographics of the South African research community.
The Minister was addressing the annual National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards ceremony on Thursday night.
Held at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West in the Western Cape, the 2019 NRF Awards were particularly significant, as the NRF is celebrating 20 years of advancing knowledge, transforming lives and inspiring the nation.
Addressing the audience, which included the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology and three former Ministers of Science and Technology, Dr Nzimande challenged the NRF to work harder to address issues of transformation within the country's research community. The Minister also called for increased gender equality.
"I am still deeply concerned about the demographics of our researchers, as well as the continued reproduction of inequalities in research outputs and innovation between historically advantaged and disadvantaged institutions. Coincidentally, this also reflects the urban and rural divide in South Africa's higher education landscape."
The Minister said that as the country prepares to embrace the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), there is a great need to ensure that people are not left behind, and for a greater focus on humanities research within the 4IR context.
"The main driver of the 4IR lies in the fusion of knowledge for economic advancement and, equally, social justice," Dr Nzimande said. "Research expertise from a range of disciplines is required to co-create new understandings and breakthroughs to transform society for the better."
The Minister said that what is needed is a university community that is sustainable, well resourced, at the leading edge of research, and future-oriented.
The annual NRF Awards celebrate excellence within the South African research and academic community.
As part of the NRF's 20th anniversary commemoration, a special 20 Years Recognition Award was presented to Dr Khotso Mokhele, former President of the NRF, in recognition of his extraordinary and transformative contribution to the advancement of South African science and its positioning globally.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Prof. Teboho Moja, currently at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at New York University, USA. This accolade is awarded to individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution, of international standard and impact, to the development of science in and for South Africa over an extended period of time, and for the way in which their work has touched and shaped the lives and views of South Africans.
The Hamilton Naki Award honours an individual for achieving world-class research performance despite considerable challenges. Named after the self-taught surgeon who trained generations of medical students in surgical techniques, it was awarded to Prof. Mashudu Tshifularo from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Pretoria's Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
The University of Fort Hare was the 2019 recipient of the NRF Excelleration Award.
Prof. Viness Pillay of the University of the Witwatersrand's Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology was named the Champion of Research Capacity Development and Transformation at South African Higher Education Institutions.
The Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers went to Ms Geaneth Pertunia Mashile from the University of Johannesburg's Department of Chemical Sciences and Mr Phetole Mangena from the University of Limpopo's Department of Biodiversity.
Dr Fanelwa Ajayi and Dr Ntakadzani Madala, from the University of the Western Cape's Department of Chemistry and the University of Venda's Department of Biochemistry respectively, were awarded the Research Excellence Award for Early Career/Emerging Researchers.
Prof. Josef de Beer from North-West University's School of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education received the Excellence in Science Engagement Award.
The evening also saw the awarding of A and P ratings. The NRF rating system is based on peer reviews and is a valuable tool for benchmarking the quality of our researchers against the best in the world. NRF ratings are allocated based on a researcher's recent outputs and impact as perceived by international peer reviewers.
P ratings, which are awarded to researchers considered likely to become future international leaders in their respective fields, on the basis of exceptional potential demonstrated in research performance and output during doctoral and/or early postdoctoral careers, were awarded to the following recipients:
- Eshchar Mizrachi from the University of Pretoria's Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute.
- Thabo Msibi from the University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Education.
- Dr Alastair Potts from Nelson Mandela University's Department of Botany.
- Du Toit Strauss from North-West University's Centre for Space Research.
- Cobus Visagie from the University of Pretoria's Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute.
A ratings are awarded to researchers who are unequivocally acknowledged by their peers as leading international scholars in their respective fields for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs. The 21 A-rated awardees were as follows:
University of the Witwatersrand
- Prof. Lucy Allais from the Department of Philosophy.
- Prof. Maureen Coetzee from the Wits Research Institute for Malaria.
University of Johannesburg
- Prof. Philip Hallinger from the Department of Education Leadership and Management.
- Prof. John Maina from the Department of Zoology.
- Prof. Thaddeus Metz from the Department of Philosophy.
University of Pretoria
- Prof. James Raftery from the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.
- Prof. Don Cowan from the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics.
- Prof. Michael Wingfield from the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute.
University of the Western Cape
- Prof. David Attwell from the Department of English.
- Prof. Emmanuel Iwuoha from the Department of Chemistry.
University of Cape Town
- Prof. Gary Maartens from the Department of Medicine.
- Prof. Harold Kincaid from the School of Economics.
- Prof. Don Ross from the School of Economics.
- Prof. Dan Stein from the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health.
- Prof. Igor Barashenkov from the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.
- Prof. Douglas Butterworth from the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.
- Prof. Philippe-Joseph Salazar from the Centre for Rhetoric Studies
Stellenbosch University
- Prof. Bert Klumperman from the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science.
- Prof. David Richardson from the Department of Zoology and Botany.
University of KwaZulu-Natal
- Prof. David McQuoid-Mason from the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
North-West University
- Prof. Marius Potgieter from the Centre for Space Research.
