`

BuildingHumanCapitalfortheDevelopmentofNanotechnologyin

SouthAfrica

SizweKhozaSkillsDevelopmentSummit

GallagherEstateConvenBon,6March2018

3 HCD Programme – South African Research Chairs

2 Strategies Driving Nanotechnology Development in SA

1 Introduction

4 HCD Programme – Masters in Nanoscience Programme

5 HCD through Innovation Centres and DST-supported Initiatives

6 Conclusion and Q&A

Presenta)onOutline

§  Nanotechnologyistheactofmanipula)ngmaterialsatvery)nyscales–atthelevelofatoms

and molecules. With materials under 100 nanometres, the ‘normal’ rules of physics andchemistry no longer apply and many materials start to display unique and, some)mes,surprisingproper)es.Theymaybecomemuchstronger,moreconduc)veormorereac)ve.

§  Themul)disciplinarynatureofnanotechnologyallowsforitsapplica)oninwiderrangeoffields

suchasenergy,waterpurifica)on,health(drug-deliverysystems)andadvancedmaterials.§  AccordingtoLuxResearch,therevenuefromnanotechnology-enabledproductsworldwideas

of 2014 stood at USD1.6 trillion – a growth of 90% in 2 years fromUSD850 billion in 2012(MakhobaX,PourisA,2016).

§  Thepoten)alrisksofignoringinvestmentsinnanotechnologymaybehugeforSouthAfrica.It

is for this reason that research and development in nanotechnology in SouthAfrica is beingcoordinatedataNa)onallevelbyDepartmentofScienceandTechnology(DST).

Introduc)on

PoliciesDrivingNanotechnologyDevelopmentinSouthAfrica

Na)onalNanotechnologyStrategy(NNS)•  LaunchedinApril2006bytheDST•  Keyfocusareasofthestrategy:

1.  Water2.  Energy3.  Health4.  MiningandMinerals5.  ChemicalsandBio-processing6.  AdvancedMaterials&Manufacturing

VisionoftheStrategy“draw upon exis)ng strengths of the na)onalsystemof innova)onwhileaddressing theneed toenhance its research infrastructureandtocreateaworkforceforadvancingtechnologybusinessesthatsupport the country’s future compe))veness andenhancedqualityoflife”.

PoliciesDrivingNanotechnologyDevelopmentinSouthAfrica

10-YearNanoscienceandNanotechResearchPlanSetsoutadetailedimplementa)onplanofNa)onalNanotechnologyStrategyandiden)fytheneedforcri)calprogrammes.Thisplanisakeycomponentoftheimplementa)onoftheNa)onalNanotechnologyStrategy.PillarstoImplemen)ngtheStrategy•  Innova)on•  KnowledgeGenera)on•  InfrastructureAcquisi)on•  ResponsibleDevelopment•  HumanCapitalDevelopment

Background•  SARChI’swereestablishedbytheDSTin2005/06FYandareastrategicresponsetoaddressthechallengeofdevelopinghigh-levelresearchskillsfortheNa)onalSystemofInnova)on.•  Themaingoalofthisini)a)veistostrengthenandimproveresearchcapacityandleadershipat

universi)esforproducinghigh-qualitypostgraduatestudentsandadvancingresearch. •  SARChI’sdedicateat least95%of their)meconduc)ngresearch,supervisinganaverageof10

mastersanddoctoralstudentsperannumandmentoringemergingresearchers.

•  From 2006/07 to 2016/17, research grants of R1 866 675 418 (approx. R1,8 billion) has beendisbursedto197SARChIchairswhilesuppor)ngof1651supportedbetween2007/08to‘16/17.

HumanCapitalDevelopment–SAResearchChairsIni)a)ve(SARChI)

•  Tier1- forestablishedresearchersthatarerecognised interna)onallyasa leader intheirfield

and/orhavereceivedsubstan)alinterna)onalrecogni)onfortheirresearchcontribu)ons.

•  Tier 2 - for established researchers, generally under the age of 40 (forty) yearswith a strongresearch, innova)on and human capital development output trajectory, and the poten)al toachievesubstan)al interna)onalrecogni)onfortheirresearchcontribu)onsinthenextfivetotenyears

HumanCapitalDevelopment–SAResearchChairsIni)a)ve(SARChI)

ListofNanotechnologyResearchChairsNameofChairHolder NameofResearchChair HostInsBtuBon Race Gender TierProfessorJ.R.Botha Nanophotonics NMU White Male 2 ProfessorV.K.Gupta Nanotechnology UJ Indian Male 1 ProfessorE.I.Iwuoha Nano-ElectrochemistryandSensorTechnology UWC Black Male 1 ProfessorP.Kooyman Nano-MaterialsforCatalysis UCT White Female 1 ProfessorT.Nyokong MedicinalChemistry&Nanotechnology RU Black Female 1 ProfessorN.RevaprasaduNanotechnology UZ Indian Male 1

HumanCapitalDevelopment–SAResearchChairsIni)a)ve(SARChI)

Background•  Theprogrammebegan in2012and isan ini)a)ve fundedby theDSTand implementedbya

consor)umoffourofthecountry’suniversi)es–UniversityoftheWesternCape,UniversityofJohannesburg,NelsonMandelaUniversityandtheUniversityofFreeState.

•  Studentsfromthebiological,chemicalandphysicalsciencesallregisterforthesamedegree-a

newconceptinadvancedresearchinSouthAfrica.•  Thecourseworkcomponent(9months)iscompletedattheUniversityoftheWesternCapeand

studentscon)nuetheirresearchprojects(15months,minimum)attheirhomeuniversity.•  TheadmissioncriteriarequiresastudenttoholdaBScHonorsorBtechorequivalentandan

averageof60%orabove.Thefullscholarshipisprovidedandincludes:registra)on,tui)onandaccommoda)on costs. Also included is an annual s)pend (personal costs) and allowance forpurchasingbooksandalaptop.

HumanCapitalDevelopment–MastersinNanoscienceProgramme

HumanCapitalDevelopment–SAResearchChairsIni)a)ve(SARChI)

Sta)s)cs│Outputs│Achievements•  From2012to2016,atotalof135studentshavebeenadmioedtotheprogramme–58male

and77female.Intermsofdemographics,75%areblacks;21%arecolouredand2%arewhitestudents.

•  From2012un)lendof2017,113studentshavegraduatedfromtheprogramme;withfurther

21studentstograduateinMarch/April2018.•  Thenumberofpeerreviewedpublica)onsproducedun)lendof2017wereover30,withthe

studentspresen)ngatbothna)onalandinterna)onalconferences.•  Mostgraduateshavecon)nuedtoenrolforPhDprogrammesand5graduateshaveregistered

at interna)onaldoctorateprogrammes.An internshipprogrammeforthegraduatesbegunin2017atSAcompanieswithhighexpecta)onstodeveloptheirskillsforuseinR&D.

HumanCapitalDevelopment–MastersinNanoscienceProgramme

1.  CSIRandMINTEKNanotechnologyInnova)onCentres-Theinnova)oncentreswereestablishedtobuildcapacitytodevelopcommercialnano-enabledproducts.Centreshaveastrongfocusonhumancapitaldevelopmentbytraining/developingyoungscien)stswhowills)mulategrowthintheemergingnanotechnologyindustry.2.SouthAfricanNanoscienceandNanotechnologySummerSchool-Theschoolaimstocreateapoolofnanoscien)stssufficientlytrainedtoconductnanoscienceresearch.TheschoolfocusesontrainingMasters,PhDandexperiencedscien)sts.3.  India-Brazil-SouthAfrica(IBSA)Programme-TheprogrammerequirestherebesharingofknowledgebetweenIndia,BrazilandSA.Thesewillbeexploitedforthedevelopmentofexper)seandskillstraininginthisresearchareas.

HCD–Innova)onCentresandDST-supportedini)a)ves

Enkosi Thank you

Re a leboga Siyabonga

Dankie SizweKhozaProjectOfficer:NanotechnologyPublicEngagementProgrammeScienceCommunica)onDivision,SAASTAEmail:sizwe@saasta.ac.zaTelephone:+27123929347andMobile:+27718756917