UP’s Acting Vice-Principal, Prof Sunil Maharaj, has been heading up the Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Education portfolio over the past six months. Here is an update on the University’s recent achievements and the initiatives that have been put in place to meet UP’s core strategies.

The first six months of 2022 have been a busy period for the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Education portfolio. During this time, Professor Sunil Maharaj led the portfolio in an acting capacity while Prof Anton Ströh was on extended leave.

Planning in order to achieve the University’s research-intensive aspirations is an ongoing process that is informed by continuous monitoring and evaluation. At a senior management meeting on 3 March this year, Prof Maharaj presented four strategies to improve UP’s research performance: conducting research that has impact; creating a more vibrant, transformed research community; enhancing student success through research at all levels of study; and providing pathways for innovation and collaboration. Additionally, the strategies are aligned with UP’s 2022–2026 five-year plan.

Growing innovation and entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship and innovation are essential elements in UP’s teaching, research, service, and local and global impact. To this end, the University has a range of entities, platforms and activities to drive and support innovation and entrepreneurship.

On 12 May, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) and business incubator TuksNovation co-hosted World Intellectual Property Day at the Javett Art Centre. The World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) theme for 2022 is ‘IP and youth: Innovating for a better future’. Via the theme, WIPO sought to explore the potential of young people in finding new and better solutions that support the transition to a sustainable future, as well as innovative, energetic, creative minds that are driving positive change in societies.

The UP event focused on young inventors and UP postgraduate students or recent graduates who have established start-up companies or commenced with commercialisation. All the inventors and entrepreneurs have licence agreements with UP for the university’s intellectual property for innovations and technologies developed during their studies. This World Intellectual Property Day proved to be one of UP’s best celebrations of the day yet.

Over the course of the first semester, the University’s patent portfolio grew, with two patents being granted in international territories: the patent Endothermic Apparatus and Processes was granted in Canada and a Method and Kit for Identifying Gene Mutations was granted in African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation countries. In addition, a third patent, Bayesian Blade Tip Timing, was granted in South Africa.

Representatives from TuksNovation, TTO managers and the head of the Department of Technology Management in the Faculty of Engineering, Build Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) visited Western Norway University of Applied Sciences in Bergen, Norway. The two universities are collaborating on two funded projects: the INTPART project ‘Developing entrepreneurial mind-sets across cultures: A Norway-South Africa collaboration’, and the DIKU project ‘Engineers in interdisciplinary teams solve the challenges of the future’. Along with representatives from Stellenbosch University, discussions focused on benchmarking, sharing practices, and exploring synergies and areas for further collaboration.

Transdisciplinary research platforms

The Future Africa Institute

The Future Africa Institute continued to play a leading role in the development of African scholarship through transdisciplinary research and engagement, with the in-person attendance of events slowly improving following the relaxation of constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 1 March, Dr Heide Hackmann assumed the role of interim Director of the Future Africa Institute for a period of six months. Before joining UP, Dr Hackmann served as Chief Executive Officer of the International Science Council.

Internationalisation

A UP delegation led by Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Tawana Kupe participated in France’s 2022 South Africa Higher Education and Research Week. Engagements with existing and potential collaborators explored opportunities for increased student exchange, collaborative research, and entrepreneurship training and support.

Student exchange activities are moving back to pre-pandemic levels, with UP hosting 17 exchange students in the first semester of the 2022 academic year. These included students from the University of Antwerp and the University of Ghent in Belgium; Lund University and the University of Uppsala in Sweden; the University of Bologna, Italy; the University of Vienna, Austria; Tilburg University, the Netherlands; Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, the University of Jena and the University of Tübingen in Germany. In the second semester, 63 exchange students and five UP students will participate in study programmes abroad.

Research, collaboration and global engagement

In February, UP’s Executive Committee approved a partnership between the University and the World Bank’s Margaret McNamara Education Grants (MMEG) for five years (2023–2027). The terms state that the University will contribute 50% of each grant for a specified number of grants per year. The MMEG awards education grants to women from developing countries who are committed to improving the lives of women and children. 

UP also renewed its membership with various international networks and associations, such as the Southern African-Nordic Centre; the National Science and Technology Forum; and the Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy, for which its current membership term runs until 2025.

This year, the University pledged its commitment, pending adequate resourcing, for a further three years to the National eScience Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform Consortium, of which it has been a member since 2017. An MSc eScience degree programme, registered in the Department of Statistics within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, focuses on participation between faculties and departments within the university, allowing for interdisciplinary research participation.

UP collaborated with the National Council on Innovation, of which Prof Kupe is a board member, to develop a national directory of experts in the national system of innovation.

Additionally, in his capacity as acting Vice-Principal, Prof Maharaj participated in several high-level international visits to UP. These included hosting delegations from the Kenyan embassy, Rutgers University in the US and Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique.

African Global University Project

The University’s goal to establish itself as a leading African global university is encapsulated in the African Global University Project (AGUP), a transformative internationalisation and global engagement initiative approved by the Executive in November 2020. The AGUP is a strategic instrument designed to leverage partnerships and collaborations, and position UP as a globally comparable institution that is responsive to local and continental sustainable development challenges.

Through the AGUP, as an internationalisation mechanism, the University will develop and manage 20 to 30 key institutional-level strategic partnerships that are equitably designed to be responsive to the African context, while simultaneously producing graduates, research and innovation, and community engagement interventions that are globally applicable.

On 9 June, the inaugural meeting of the Senate Committee for Internationalisation and Global Engagement was held. UP’s internationalisation drive could benefit from closer interaction between faculties and the international offices. These offices include support services with international outlook targets, such as the research and grants management divisions, enrolment and student administration offices, the international cooperation division, fundraising and alumni teams, and international strategic partnership activities

UP research leadership and excellence

The University has the highest number of researchers rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF): a total of 607 rated researchers. Recent NRF A-rated researchers include:

• Prof Nigel Bennet (Mammal Research Institute, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences – NAS)
• Prof Pedro Crous (Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute)
• Prof Riel Franzsen (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences – EMS)
• Prof Jenny Hoobler (former EMS)
• Prof DeWet Swanepoel (Faculty of Humanities)

UP researchers Prof Rangan Gupta and Prof Mike Wingfield were identified in the top 1% of highly cited researchers in their fields (Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2021). Prof Wingfield also recently received the Harry Oppenheimer Award, which recognises scholarship of the highest calibre across various academic and research disciplines, and is one of the most prestigious research grants on the continent.

Prof Zitha Mokomane of the Department of Sociology was nominated to serve on the NRF’s Executive Evaluation Committee as convener of a Specialist Committee.

In May, the University submitted nominations for five scholars from four faculties to be considered for membership to the Academy of Science of South Africa.

UP has four new research chairs, co-funded by the University, the NRF and the Department of Science and Innovation. The new South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) chairs and their programmes are:

• Prof Zodwa Dlamini, Precision Oncology and Cancer Prevention (Faculty of Health Sciences)
• Prof Nelishia Pillay, Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development (EBIT)
• Prof Thulani Makhalanyane, Marine Microbiomics (NAS)
• Prof Christopher Nshimbi, Political Economy of Migration in the Southern African Development Community region (Faculty of Humanities)

Seven new projects with UP researchers leading work packages have been successful with applications to the European Union-funded Horizon Europe funding programmes. We are finalising the various grant and consortium agreements. The researchers are:

• Prof Henrietta Langmi, Department of Chemistry
• Prof Rebecca Garland, Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology
• Prof Wanda Markotter, Future Africa Institute and the Department of Medical Virology
• Prof Alan Guthrie, Equine Research Centre
• Dr Nwabisa Mehlomakulu, Department of Consumer and Food Sciences
• Prof Sheryl Hendriks, Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
• Prof Johan Wassermann, Department of Humanities Education

Creative, innovations and research publication outputs

The Department of Higher Education and Training approved about 98% of UP’s 2020 research publication submissions for a subsidy. The University also had the highest number of qualifying creative outputs and patents submitted of all South African universities in 2019 and 2020.

The 2022 submission of approved research publications, totalling 2 374 units, is the highest ever and is an indication of the commitment of academics, fellows and students, as all weathered the pandemic and its impact on research activities, collaborations and the funding environment.

UP Library showed its commitment to finding innovative solutions to support researchers in publishing their work and accessing journal articles by entering into transformative agreements with journal publishers.

The 2020/21 UP Sustainable Development Report, the second of its kind, was published in the first quarter of 2022.

Postdoctoral fellows

A new category of co-funded postdoctoral fellowships support was introduced to grow UP’s postdoctoral fellow cohort. A additional 38 fellows joined UP as fellows through this instrument, and the University is looking at several avenues to reach its goal of 500 postdoctoral fellows, as stated in the UP strategy.

Resourcing of research

Ensuring adequate resourcing of the University’s research activities remains a key focus area. Towards the end of 2021, the Executive Committee approved a submission to provide additional funding of more than R10 million for postgraduate bursaries and the co-funding of postdoctoral fellowships.

Furthermore, the annual round of academic equipment funding saw an amount of R40 062 850 being disbursed to meet equipment funding requests received from faculties.

In light of the importance of resourcing to ensure that the University’s research impact is optimised, Prof Maharaj was nominated to serve on the Strategic Planning and Allocation of Resources Committee (SPARC).

An extensive survey of supervision capacity in all faculties was conducted. SPARC consequently approved a proposal to increase supervisory capacity to support faculties in appointing an identified list of retired academic staff needed for supervision of master’s (a total of 235) and doctoral (a total of 64) students in 2022. This intervention, for which an amount of R4 million was approved, is expected to contribute about 4% and 3% to the 2022 enrolment targets for master’s and doctoral students respectively.

In 2022, the University is continuing its participation in Phase 2 of the Nurturing Emerging Scholars Programme.

SARChI chairs

In March, the University submitted an application in response to a call for applications to the University-led Collaborative Projects Sub-Programme (2022/23).

Three SARChI chairs approved by the NRF in March 2021 were filled in 2022. These are:

• Genomic and splicing-based precision drug targeting for African cancers with infection enhanced risk
• Machine-learning for sustainable development
• Marine microbiomics

Institutional quality assurance

Towards the end of February, UP received notice from the Council on Higher Education (CHE) that the improvement plan that the University had developed to respond to the recommendations of the CHE’s national doctoral programme review had been approved. The University is required to submit a comprehensive progress report on the implementation of the improvement plan by 30 September 2022.

In his capacity as acting Vice-Principal, Prof Maharaj also played a leading role in preparations for the CHE institutional audit of the University, which will also take place in September this year. Prof Maharaj acted as co-chairperson of the UP CHE Institutional Audit Steering Committee.

Other roles and external bodies

For 2022, Prof Maharaj has been appointed as benefactor for the following UP residences: College, House Tau, The Tower and Tuksdorp. The members of the Executive Committee and deans being appointed have first-hand experience of student life outside the classroom environment, which will contribute positively to them making informed decisions about the well-being and success of students.

Prof Maharaj continued to serve as President of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers.

Challenges

The NRF remains one of UP’s most significant national research and bursary funders. Unfortunately, the new online system has been problematic for most applicants in completing their funding applications. In recent weeks, this has also impacted on the payment of bursaries and grants. The Deputy Vice-Chancellors of research from several universities jointly communicated with the NRF about the problems encountered by staff and students.

Another challenge has been the delays by the Department of Home Affairs in issuing study and postdoctoral training visas for international students and postdoctoral fellows.

Plans for the remainder of 2022

In the remaining months of this year, we will launch the UP Postgraduate Centre to offer postgraduate students and supervisors enhanced service. The first Postgraduate Research Day takes place in August, with doctoral students competing in the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition and master’s students in the Visualise your Thesis (VYT) competition. The 3MT winner will progress to compete in the national competition, and the VYT winner will compete virtually in the international competition hosted by the University of Melbourne in Australia.

To support increased access to European Union and other international funding, we have subscribed to Crowdhelix, an online innovation platform where users can share collaborative opportunities with a global network of excellent researchers, institutions and innovative companies. The official launch will take place in the second semester with a University-wide webinar.