The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Zeblon Vilakazi and French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) CEO Professor Antoine Petit have signed a bipartite agreement for research cooperation to foster scientific excellence.
The framework agreement aims to strengthen the existing successful collaboration between the institutions, to promote collaborative research, to advance international cooperation and to be at the forefront of scientific innovation and transfer of the research results into successful innovation for the benefit of both institutions.
The collaborations will see staff and information exchanges, the implementation and promotion of joint activities and joint programmes, as well as the organisation of joint scientific events.
Collaborations between Wits and the CNRS are already active in a diverse array of science fields such as physics, astronomy and astrophysics, the palaeosciences, the environment and ecology.
The CNRS and Wits this year launched their first call for a Joint PhD programme, which led to selecting and financing new scientific collaborations and training by research in ecology, physics, atmospheric sciences and anthropology.