The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) establishes prestigious research chairs in South African universities with the support of funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). The programme, launched in 2006 as a joint initiative between the NRF and the national Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), aims to attract and retain excellent researchers in South African public institutions. The research chairs are reserved for established researchers and are renewable for up to 15 years.[1]

History and management

DSI (then called the Department of Science and Technology) established the South African Research Chairs Initiative in 2006 as a means of attracting and retaining "excellence in research and innovation at South African public universities".[1] In particular, the government was concerned to deter brain drain while attracting expatriate, foreign, and private-sector researchers.[2]

The initiative is implemented by the NRF, and a small number of chairs are co-funded with donations from interested businesses.[2] Research chairs funded under the initiative are hosted by a South African university and are supported by sizeable NRF research grants, which cover salaries, postdoctoral fellowships, research equipment and operating costs, and other overhead for the research programme established under the chair. Each chair is established at one of two tiers according to the candidate's track record in research and student supervision: Tier I chairs are reserved for internationally recognised researchers, who are eligible to spend up to 50 per cent of their time outside South Africa, while Tier II chairs are full-time.[1] Chairs can be renewed every five years for up to 15 years.[3]

Supporters of the initiative argue that it ameliorates brain drain,[4] boosts research output and capacity for postgraduate supervision,[5][6][7] supports affirmative action efforts in respect of gender and race,[8] and results in broader economic benefits by boosting research and development capacity.[9]

Distribution of chairs

Applications for new research chairs are solicited and approved at the discretion of DSI and the NRF. Upon its launch in 2006, the initiative established 21 chairs and set a target of supporting 210 chairs by 2010, representing an investment of close to R10-billion over 15 years.[3][10] By mid-2011, only 92 research chairs had been established,[2] though they accounted for an outsized proportion of the country's total research output – comprising 1.5 per cent of all active researchers in South Africa, they produced 4.5 per cent of national research outputs.[11]

By 2015, the number of research chairs had grown to 150.[5] Later that year, noting that men accounted for 80 per cent of SARChI recipients, Naledi Pandor (then the Minister of Science and Technology) announced an unprecedented call for applications that was open only to women researchers; 42 women were approved for new research chairs, bringing the total stock of research chairs to 201 and close to gender parity.[10][12]

Especially in the early years of the initiative, there was debate in the academic community about the equity of the distribution of the research chairs across disciplines and institutions. Early grants were concentrated at South Africa's top-ranked research universities, such as the University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand;[3] however, by 2012, 21 of the country's 23 universities hosted at least one chair, and the representation of former technikons had improved vastly.[13] Similarly, the initiative was initially criticised for its narrow focus on research topics in science, which were more closely aligned to the government's strategic priorities,[14] but greater provision was later made for humanities and social science researchers to obtain research chairs in an "open" category.[1]

Notable people

Current chairs

Name Position Host institution Ref.
Cathi Albertyn South African Research Chair in Equality, Law and Social Justice Witwatersrand University [15]
Priscilla Baker South African Research Chair in Analytical Systems and Processes for Priority and Emerging Contaminants University of the Western Cape [16]
Jacek Banasiak South African Research Chair in Mathematical Models and Methods in Bioengineering and Biosciences University of Pretoria [17]
Haroon Bhorat South African Research Chair in Economic Growth, Poverty and Inequality University of Cape Town [18]
Reinette Biggs South African Research Chair in Social-Ecological Systems and Resilience Stellenbosch University [19]
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela South African Research Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma Stellenbosch University [20]
Amanda Gouws South African Research Chair in Gender Politics Stellenbosch University [21]
Pumla Dineo Gqola South African Research Chair in African Feminist Imaginations Nelson Mandela University [22]
Ruth Hall South African Research Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies University of the Western Cape [16]
Patricia Hayes South African Research Chair in Visual History and Theory University of the Western Cape [16]
Cang Hui South African Research Chair in Mathematical and Theoretical Physical Biosciences Stellenbosch University [23]
Namrita Lall    South African Research Chair in Plant Health Products from Indigenous Knowledge Systems University of Pretoria [17]
Janice Limson South African Research Chair in Biotechnology Innovation and Engagement Rhodes University [24]
Catriona Macleod South African Research Chair in Critical Studies in Sexualities and Reproduction Rhodes University [24]
Penny Moore South African Research Chair in Virus-Host Dynamics for Public Health Witwatersrand University [25]
Caroline Ncube South African Research Chair in Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development University of Cape Town [18]
Philiswa Nomngongo South African Research Chair in Nanotechnology for Water University of Johannesburg [26]
Kenneth Ozoemena South African Research Chair in Materials Electrochemistry and Energy Technologies Witwatersrand University [27]
Leila Patel South African Research Chair in Welfare and Social Development University of Johannesburg [26]
Michèle Ramsay South African Research Chair in Bioinformatics of African Populations Witwatersrand University [28]
Mike Roberts Bilateral South African Chair in Marine Food Security (with the University of Southampton) Nelson Mandela University [29]
Melissa Steyn South African Research Chair in Critical Diversity Studies Witwatersrand University [28]
Caroline Tiemessen South African Research Chair in HIV Vaccine Translational Research Witwatersrand University [28]
Dire Tladi South African Research Chair in International Constitutional Law University of Pretoria [17]
Fiona Tregenna South African Research Chair in Industrial Development University of Johannesburg [26]
Cherryl Walker South African Research Chair in Sociology of Land, Environment and Sustainable Development Stellenbosch University [30]
Amanda Weltman South African Research Chair in Physical Cosmology University of Cape Town [18]
Brenda Wingfield South African Research Chair in Fungal Genomics University of Pretoria [17]

Former chairs

Name Position Institution Ref.
Jill Adler South African Research Chair in Mathematics Education Witwatersrand University
Alan Christoffels South African Research Chair in Bioinformatics and Public Health University of the Western Cape [16]
Felix Dapare Dakora South African Research Chair in Agrochemurgy and Plant Symbioses Tshwane University of Technology [31]
Tania Douglas South African Research Chair in Biomedical Engineering and Innovation University of Cape Town
Catherine Odora Hoppers South African Research Chair in Development Education University of South Africa
Shabir Madhi South African Research Chair in Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Witwatersrand University
Thumbi Ndung'u South African Research Chair in Systems Biology of HIV/AIDS University of KwaZulu-Natal
Lungisile Ntsebeza South African Research Chair in Land Reform and Democracy in South Africa University of Cape Town [32]
Tebello Nyokong South African Research Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology Rhodes University [24]
Francesco Petruccione South African Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing and Communication   University of KwaZulu-Natal
Daya Reddy South African Research Chair in Computational Mechanics University of Cape Town
Alta Schutte South African Research Chair in Early Detection and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Africa North-West University
Peter Weingart South African Research Chair in Science Communication Stellenbosch University

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "South African Research Chairs Initiative". National Research Foundation. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Message from the Minister of Science and Technology". The Mail & Guardian. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Pretorius, Cornia (2008-08-20). "Funding for science research diverted". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  4. ↑ Molefi, Itumeleng (2017-12-15). "Steering South Africa's knowledge economy". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  5. 1 2 "PhDs hold key to SA's development". The Mail & Guardian. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  6. ↑ Wild, Sarah (2017-12-09). "MPs to get science classes". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  7. ↑ Wild, Sarah (2014-03-07). "Chair boosters fuel SA's research engine". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  8. ↑ "We salute our women scientists". The Mail & Guardian. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  9. ↑ Pandor, Naledi (2017-04-21). "Business R&D spending in South Africa shows signs of recovery". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  10. 1 2 "SARChI changes the face of university research". The Mail & Guardian. 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  11. ↑ "Investing in knowledge and innovation". The Mail & Guardian. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  12. ↑ Molefi, Itumeleng (2017-12-15). "African women in science". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  13. ↑ Cherry, Michael (2012-03-01). "Research chairs initiative fails to increase doctoral student numbers". South African Journal of Science. 108 (3/4). doi:10.4102/sajs.v108i3/4.1183. ISSN 1996-7489.
  14. ↑ "Still searching for 'the human'". The Mail & Guardian. 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  15. ↑ "Former CALS Director appointed NRF SARChI Chair". Wits University. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "NRF SARChI Chairs". University of the Western Cape. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)". University of Pretoria. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  18. 1 2 3 "South African research chairs". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "Research Chairs". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  20. ↑ "Welcome to the Office of the Chair for Historical Trauma and Transformation and the SARChI Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  21. ↑ "SA Research Chair in Gender Politics". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  22. ↑ "Research Chairs". Nelson Mandela University. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  23. ↑ "Mathematical Biology @ Stellenbosch". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  24. 1 2 3 "South African Research Chairs Initiatives (SARChI)". Rhodes University. 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  25. ↑ "SARChI Chairs". Wits University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  26. 1 2 3 "Research Chairs at the University of Johannesburg". University of Johannesburg. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  27. ↑ "Team". Wits Materials Electrochemistry and Energy Technologies. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  28. 1 2 3 "Five new high profile research chairs awarded". University World News. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  29. ↑ Dugmore, Heather (2020-11-07). "South Africa wins Newton prize for ocean science and food security". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  30. ↑ "SA Research Chair in the Sociology of Land, Environment and Sustainable Development". Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  31. ↑ "Research Chairs". Tshwane University of Technology. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  32. ↑ "The land question answered". The Mail & Guardian. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
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