South Africa and the UK will showcase the activities of a joint research chairs programme under the UK–South Africa Newton Fund during a symposium to be held in Pretoria on October 2.
Launched two years ago, the UK–South Africa Research Chairs Programme is part of an innovative bid to expand the South African Research Chairs Initiative through collaborative partnership.
Sponsored through the National Research Foundation, the British Council and the British Academy, the programme is aimed at improving the extent, delivery and impact of research capacity and providing mentorship opportunities for young emerging researchers at South African universities.
Under the programme, lives are being improved through health research, young innovators are being supported to commercialise their ideas and hundreds of early-stage researchers are strengthening their work through international collaboration, a statement issued on Tuesday explained.
Three bilateral research chairs have been awarded in political theory, social protection for food security, as well as ocean science and marine food security.
Two trilateral chairs have also been awarded in transformative innovation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and sustainable development; and mainstreaming gender for energy security in poor urban environments.
The symposium will give the chairs an opportunity to demonstrate, among others, how their work has contributed directly to national policy on food security and helped to drive regional collaboration.
The UK-South Africa Newton Fund is part of a broader Newton Fund programme, which has a total UK government investment of £735-million up until 2021, with matched resources from the partner countries.
The UK-South Africa Newton Fund has already seen a co-investment of £30-million since its launch in 2014.