Research and Internationalisation in Higher Education: National and Global Perspectives
Professors Amanda Visser and Danie Lourens;
University vice-chancellors;
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for inviting me to address this prestigious gathering, which is taking place during the month in which we customarily pause reflect on, and celebrate the contribution of women to society.
It would perhaps be interesting to hear what a gathering of this stature thinks, not just about the status of women today, but also about what contribution women should make to ensuring that knowledge, and scientific knowledge in particular, is used to construct a better world.
Responding to the challenge of globalisation
Globalisation has meant that the world increasingly faces more complex, multi-dimensional and interlinked developmental challenges. We have recently seen how the global economic meltdown, which started in one part of the world, ended up affecting most of the world, often with devastating consequences.
Governments, institutions of higher learning and the private sector need to be more innovative in how they respond to this new global reality. Countries such as the Republic of Korea that have deliberately invested in developing their human capital through education, specifically by adopting models that give impetus to the internationalisation of education, have not only succeeded in achieving impressive growth rates, but have proved to be more resilient in the face of these global challenges.
The experiences of Korea and other countries that started off with development profiles similar to those of South Africa, have taught us a number of valuable lessons. One such lesson is that developing countries need to develop the capacity to respond proactively to the myriad of global challenges.
It therefore made absolute sense, given our history of political, social and economic inequality, that we identified education as central to the achievement of our nation's development hopes.
The role of universities in responding to the challenge of globalisation
Realising that globalisation is now a fact of life; universities across the world are increasingly forging comprehensive and strategic networks with a view to advancing their respective interests. Until fairly recently, however, most of these networks have been unstructured, relying heavily upon individuals taking the initiative to set them up.
To address this and related challenges, European countries got together and formed the European Higher Education Area to ensure more coherent and compatible systems of higher education in Europe. This led to accelerated "Europeanisation", as it is sometimes called, and was characterised by strategic and more structured networking among European universities. It also resulted in other parts of the world viewing Europe as an attractive destination for study and research, and a partner for exchange.
Because of this sort of purposeful collaboration, internationalisation beyond Europe has become a strategic goal of many European governments and universities, to the extent that practically all institutions and countries in Europe make provision for international students. The ideal situation is for more and more regions of the world to adopt this approach, in particular those regions that constitute the developing world.
The mobility of students and researchers
Knowledge generation and exploitation are fundamental for technological innovation and global competitiveness. To enhance our ability to participate in the global economy and, ultimately, to influence the direction that the world is taking in a positive way, we have taken a conscious decision to shift our largely resource economy, into a progressively knowledge-driven one.
Our efforts at internationalising our higher education system are also aimed at enhancing the quality of our higher education research output. It is for this reason that we are pleased to note the increase in PhD graduates in our country from the Southern African Development Community, other African countries and the rest of the world.
To illustrate this, in 2000, only 10% of South Africa's PhD graduates were foreign students, but this number has increased to more than 27%. At doctoral and postdoctoral levels, international students supported by the Department of Science and Technology through the National Research Foundation make up 16% and 63% of the total, respectively, with about 12% of them coming from Africa.
These figures are not just confirmation of our efforts at internationalisation, enriching and promoting diversity within the higher education system, but also show that our system is seen as an attractive and competitive one.
The growth of South Africa's research collaborations
Not surprisingly, this is yielding rich dividends: the share of scientific publications produced by South African researchers in collaboration with international researchers, as a percentage of the total number of publications, increased from 12,8% in 1990 to 48,3% in 2009.
Overall, the numbers of scientific publications resulting from international research partnerships grew quite phenomenally from 518 publications in 1990 to 3 404 in 2009. These results indicate the increasing contribution of international collaborations towards South Africa's knowledge-generation capacity.
It should also be noted though that internationalisation in research and the mobility of researchers have resulted in a brain-drain from some countries due to well-resourced institutions in other countries, and this exodus has also affected South Africa.
To attract some of our high-level researchers back into higher education in this country, the Department of Science and Technology introduced the South African Research Chairs Initiative. Out of the 92 currently operational chairs, about 25% have been recruited from outside the higher education sector. Some of these are foreign nationals.
Enhancing internationalisation through the research, development and innovation infrastructure
We believe that South Africa's transformation from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy requires targeted interventions across the entire value-chain, from basic research and development to commercialisation. In this regard, the development of world-class infrastructure is a prerequisite.
Therefore, for South African higher education and research institutions to compete globally and to be more attractive to international students and researchers, their research infrastructure has to be improved. In support of this imperative, we have developed a Research, Development and Innovation Infrastructure Funding Framework.
The purpose of the framework is to steer and guide the allocation and prioritisation of the DST ring-fenced "Research and Development Infrastructure" budget as a significant source of funding for infrastructure provision across our four priority areas, which are: scientific equipment, specialised facilities, high-end infrastructure and access to global infrastructure.
Infrastructure for information communication technology, which includes high-performance computing, broad bandwidth research networks, data storage and management systems and GRID and Cloud Computing services, is part of the comprehensive infrastructure that is needed to address the complex, multi-disciplinary and cross-border needs of modern science.
It is our view that some of the fundamental questions of science can be adequately responded to only by participation in research efforts using global infrastructure linked by high-speed networks for optimal sharing of data and resources.
This infrastructure provides capability beyond the resources available at regional or national level. It also provides platforms which bring together human and other resources, from wherever they are located, to address research issues that cannot be tackled by one or two regions or countries. A good example of this sort of global infrastructure is the Square Kilometre Array, of which Africa was recently awarded the right to host the major part.
Promoting internationalisation through international engagements
In addition to the various funding and infrastructure initiatives, we have also had international engagements that have afforded South African students the opportunity to gain international exposure at institutions of higher learning across the world, building networks that would not otherwise be possible.
There is an increasing acknowledgment that the multitude of challenges faced by the international community require the sharing of resources, skills and infrastructure to allow research, for example on aspects of global change, and the development of specialised skills, which countries would not be able to undertake alone. Groupings such as the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) provide a good platform for countries to engage in the solving of common challenges.
International platforms offer numerous opportunities for South African researchers to co-publish in scientific journals. Several collaborative initiatives have also contributed to formal postgraduate qualifications for South African students.
Various mechanisms, such as technical capacity-building workshops, have also provided the relevant space for the internationalisation of skills, training and education. Scholarships that are offered through the various partners also provide opportunities for South African students to broaden their international exposure.
Some key examples of South Africa's international cooperation projects.
Allow me now to give you a sense of some of our key international cooperation projects.
Collaboration with Germany
Today, South Africa has more than 30 bi-national science and technology agreements, compared to a mere handful in 1994. In 1996 we concluded a science and technology agreement with Germany, which led to the establishment of a joint research fund. To date, , this partnership has provided funding of more than R80 million to over 400 research and development projects.
Collaboration with Switzerland
Like the cooperation with Germany, South African-Swiss cooperation has contributed immensely to the South African human capacity development objectives. At the end of March of this year, a total of 67 students were involved in the research projects under the Swiss South African Joint Research Programme. Forty-five are PhD students and 22 are postdoctoral fellows. In 2011 and in the first half of this year, 22 young South African researchers attended an entrepreneurship summer school in Switzerland. Four of these entrepreneurs have subsequently started their own companies.
In the field of palaeosciences South Africa has become an epicentre for global collaboration largely because our country is blessed with excellent and important fossil resources, the fact that our palaeoscientists provide open access to fossil data, and the fact that we are at the cutting edge of technology. Our palaeoscientists have very active scientific collaborations with scientists from countries on all continents of the world. On the African continent we are also working with fellow scientists in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Because of the breadth and multidisciplinary nature of the palaeosciences subject area, the nature of the scientific collaboration between scientists from different countries varies a great deal, from the use of dating facilities for age determination of rocks, synchrotrons for scanning purposes, understanding the progression of life through time including the origins of multicellular creatures, fish origins and diversification, the oldest dinosaur eggs and chicks, the most distant origins of mammals, or the rich fossil evidence of the origins of humankind in Africa.
Advancing the African agenda: some of our successes in Africa
In line with South Africa's foreign policy, which is premised on "a better South Africa in a better Africa and a better world", we have deliberately advanced and consolidated the African agenda through strategic science and technology partnerships across the continent and region. To date, we are funding joint projects with African partners to an estimated value of over R50 million, helping to facilitate active research networks between South African researchers and their counterparts in Algeria, Namibia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Egypt and Angola.
We view ourselves not only as an integral part of the African continent, but also as part of the solution to some of Africa's most pressing social challenges. We believe that Africa's challenges can be effectively addressed by placing science, technology and innovation at the forefront of the quest for solutions.
We are also advancing science and technology development in the SADC region. Our efforts resulted in the SADC Heads of State endorsing the SADC Protocol on Science, Technology and Innovation in 2008. The overall objective of the protocol is to foster cooperation and promote the development, transfer and mastery of science, technology and innovation in member states. A number of projects and initiatives are being championed in the region, including policy training, high-performance computing, responses to climate change and indigenous knowledge systems.
Also, largely through our initiative, the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST) adopted Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan in 2005 in Senegal. The plan focuses on research and development programmes, improving policy conditions and building innovation mechanisms, as well as implementation, funding and governance. It was endorsed by the African Union Summit in Khartoum in 2006.
On the domestic front, the South African government continues to provide resources in support of scientific research partnerships. Our eight science councils are all engaged in technology transfer and capacity-building by undertaking research for social, scientific and technological development – development that leads to an improvement in the living standards of all South Africans.
Ladies and gentlemen, we live in exciting times for science and technology education in our country. Two years from now, Africa will, for the first time in history, host the International Mathematical Olympiad – right here in Cape Town. The announcement that South Africa has won a major share of the right to host the Square Kilometre Array, will no doubt spark a renewed interest in science amongst our young people.
Yesterday, Minister Naledi Pandor announced the identification of a possible single-dose, orally administered malaria cure following extensive research undertaken by the Medicines for Malaria Venture based in Switzerland, and the Drug Discovery and Development Centre, led by Professor Kelly Chibale, at our very own University of Cape Town. Professor Chabale quite rightly called this “a proud day for African science and African scientists.” The identification of this possible cure, represents an African solution to save millions of African people from dying at a young age – Malaria accounts for 24% of recorded child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
What makes this recently discovered compound so exciting is that apart from being a potential single-dose malaria cure, it shows potent activity against multiple points in the malaria parasite’s life-cycle, and it might also be able to block transmission of the parasite from person to person. The Chief Scientific Officer of Switzerland’s Medicines for Malaria Venture, Dr Tim Wells, called this breakthrough, and I quote, “a great achievement and an excellent example of the quality of research that can be fostered in Africa.”
And on the subject of HIV and Aids, South Africans are greatly encouraged by the recent announcement in Washington DC that significant new progress has been made in the search for a cure for Aids. Given the problem presented by tuberculosis in our country, we are also heartened by reported results of a clinical trial of a new combination of drugs to treat TB. The new drug cocktail was found to kill 99% of TB bacteria within two weeks. This is a very exciting development, particularly given the fact that there have been no new drugs to treat TB in the past 40 years.
Concluding remarks
Ladies and gentlemen, knowledge, in particular scientific knowledge, is key to building a more equitable and humane world, but it will not be able to fulfil this noble purpose for as long as it continues to be perceived as the sole preserve of a privileged few.
Therefore as stated in my introductory remarks, it is my sincere hope that one of the issues that this gathering will consider is the development of more creative ways of ensuring that those who are on the margins of economic and intellectual production, especially women, ultimately become an integral part of the conception and application of scientific solutions.
As the English playwright Joseph Addison once said: “What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.”
I thank you.
Keynote Address by the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, MP, on the Occasion of the 16th Annual Conference of the International Education Association of South Africa, 29 August 2012, Cape Town
