Four Gauteng-based universities walked away with a combined total of 14 awards at the National Research Foundation (NRF) Annual Award Ceremony in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday night.
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of South Africa (UNISA), and the University of Pretoria (UP) were among the major winners at the annual NRF Awards which recognises and celebrates South African research excellence.
Wits collected eight A-rating awards, in addition to the university’s Natalie Benjamin-Damons being honoured with The Next Generation Researcher Award for outstanding academic performance in her final year as a doctoral student.
“UJ, UNISA and UP each walked away with two A-ratings respectively. A-ratings demonstrates unequivocal recognition by their peers as leading international scholars in their respective fields, for the high quality and impact of recent research outputs. Acquiring an NRF rating generates considerable acknowledgement and respect for the individual researchers as well as their institutions,” the NRF said in a statement.