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

NameTitle of chairHost institutionRef.
Cathi AlbertynEquality, Law and Social JusticeWitwatersrand University[15]
Priscilla BakerAnalytical Systems and Processes for Priority and Emerging ContaminantsUniversity of the Western Cape[16]
Jacek BanasiakMathematical Models and Methods in Bioengineering and BiosciencesUniversity of Pretoria[17]
Haroon BhoratEconomic Growth, Poverty and InequalityUniversity of Cape Town[18]
Reinette BiggsSocial-Ecological Systems and ResilienceStellenbosch University[19]
Pumla Gobodo-MadikizelaViolent Histories and Transgenerational TraumaStellenbosch University[20]
Amanda GouwsGender PoliticsStellenbosch University[21]
Pumla Dineo GqolaAfrican Feminist ImaginationsNelson Mandela University[22]
Ruth HallPoverty, Land and Agrarian StudiesUniversity of the Western Cape[16]
Patricia HayesVisual History and TheoryUniversity of the Western Cape[16]
Cang HuiMathematical and Theoretical Physical BiosciencesStellenbosch University[23]
Namrita LallPlant Health Products from Indigenous Knowledge SystemsUniversity of Pretoria[17]
Janice LimsonBiotechnology Innovation and EngagementRhodes University[24]
Catriona MacleodCritical Studies in Sexualities and ReproductionRhodes University[24]
Thokozani MajoziSustainable Process EngineeringWitwatersrand University[25]
Penny MooreVirus-Host Dynamics for Public HealthWitwatersrand University[25]
Caroline NcubeIntellectual Property, Innovation and DevelopmentUniversity of Cape Town[18]
Philiswa NomngongoNanotechnology for WaterUniversity of Johannesburg[26]
Kenneth OzoemenaMaterials Electrochemistry and Energy TechnologiesWitwatersrand University[27]
Leila PatelWelfare and Social DevelopmentUniversity of Johannesburg[26]
Michèle RamsayBioinformatics of African PopulationsWitwatersrand University[28]
Mike RobertsMarine Food Security (with the University of Southampton)Nelson Mandela University[29]
Judith SealyStable Isotopes in Archaeology and Paleoenvironmental StudiesUniversity of Cape Town[18]
Melissa SteynCritical Diversity StudiesWitwatersrand University[28]
Caroline TiemessenHIV Vaccine Translational ResearchWitwatersrand University[28]
Dire TladiInternational Constitutional LawUniversity of Pretoria[17]
Fiona TregennaIndustrial DevelopmentUniversity of Johannesburg[26]
Cherryl WalkerSociology of Land, Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentStellenbosch University[30]
Amanda WeltmanPhysical CosmologyUniversity of Cape Town[18]
Brenda WingfieldFungal GenomicsUniversity of Pretoria[17]

Former chairs

NameTitle of chairInstitutionRef.
Jill AdlerMathematics EducationWitwatersrand University
Alan ChristoffelsBioinformatics and Public HealthUniversity of the Western Cape[16]
Felix Dapare DakoraAgrochemurgy and Plant SymbiosesTshwane University of Technology[31]
Tania DouglasBiomedical Engineering and InnovationUniversity of Cape Town[32]
Carolyn HamiltonArchive and Public CultureUniversity of Cape Town[33]
Catherine Odora HoppersDevelopment EducationUniversity of South Africa
Murray LeibbrandtPoverty and Inequality ResearchUniversity of Cape Town[34]
Shabir MadhiVaccine-Preventable DiseasesWitwatersrand University
Thumbi Ndung'uSystems Biology of HIV/AIDSUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal
Lungisile NtsebezaLand Reform and Democracy in South AfricaUniversity of Cape Town[35]
Tebello NyokongMedicinal Chemistry and NanotechnologyRhodes University[24]
Francesco PetruccioneQuantum Information Processing and CommunicationUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal
Daya ReddyComputational MechanicsUniversity of Cape Town
Alta SchutteEarly Detection and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in AfricaNorth-West University
Peter WeingartScience CommunicationStellenbosch University
Anna-Lise WilliamsonVaccinologyUniversity of Cape Town[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ "South African Research Chairs Initiative". National Research Foundation. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Message from the Minister of Science and Technology" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  3. ^ Pretorius, Cornia (2008-08-20). "Funding for science research diverted" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  4. ^ Molefi, Itumeleng (2017-12-15). "Steering South Africa’s knowledge economy" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  5. ^ "PhDs hold key to SA’s development" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  6. ^ Wild, Sarah (2017-12-09). "MPs to get science classes" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  7. ^ Wild, Sarah (2014-03-07). "Chair boosters fuel SA’s research engine" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  8. ^ "We salute our women scientists" (in en-ZA). 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" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  10. ^ "SARChI changes the face of university research" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  11. ^ "Investing in knowledge and innovation" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  12. ^ Molefi, Itumeleng (2017-12-15). "African women in science" (in en-ZA). 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’" (in en-ZA). 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. ^ "NRF SARChI Chairs". University of the Western Cape. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  17. ^ "South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)". University of Pretoria. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  18. ^ "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. ^ "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. ^ "Research Chairs at the University of Johannesburg" (in en-ZA). University of Johannesburg. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  27. ^ "Team". Wits Materials Electrochemistry and Energy Technologies. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  28. ^ "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" (in en-ZA). 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. ^ "At the vanguard of transformation" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  33. ^ "Professor Carolyn Hamilton" (in en-ZA). Nelson Mandela Foundation. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  34. ^ "Murray Leibbrandt". IZA - Institute of Labor Economics. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  35. ^ "The land question answered" (in en-ZA). The Mail & Guardian. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  36. ^ "Professor Anna-Lise Williamson". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 27 June 2024.