Thank you for the opportunity to address you at your third annual conference. We are at an important juncture in the process of creating an integrated and differentiated post-school education and training system. Your discussions at this conference must contribute towards this process, particularly the role of universities of technology in the higher education and training family.
Our government, and our partners, are constantly looking for better ways to educate our people and structure our education and training system so that our school leavers, post-school youth, and adults - the employed as well as the unemployed - can gain access to further and higher education training opportunities. Furthermore, South Africa is an ever-changing place; politically, demographically and technologically within a world that is becoming an increasingly competitive economic global environment and we need to make sure that we develop our people with the relevant skills.
We have to build a nation with functional and intellectual capability that is committed to life-long learning, but also increase the skills base of our workforce, thereby increasing our chances for success in the global community. Trade and economic viability are becoming increasingly important in all countries around the world. As a result, Human Resource Development is becoming an integral part of any country’s ability to sustain development. However, there is an urgent need to emphasise the importance of connecting the human resource development initiatives with our education policy and other developmental strategies across all spheres of government. Interfacing the programmes of my department with the range of social and economic development strategies across all spheres of government is necessary in order to align education and training to our overarching Human Resources Development Strategy (HRD-SA).
We are creating the necessary synergies through the signing of delivery agreements with the President. The over-arching framework for all our targets is HRD-SA, led by the Deputy President and managed by the Department of Higher Education and Training. The HRD-SA will improve alignment and ensure that all players in human resource development from government, universities, civil society sectors, organised business, labour, professional bodies and research communities reinforce and complement the work of others.
Education and human resource development have been identified by the government as key strategies for South Africa’s development as it focuses on how to re-organise the education system into an integrated post-school system as well as developing the workforce. The government has identified the establishment of a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path as one of the desired outcomes of its five-year strategic plan and which now sets the agenda for the work of my department.
This target was set to systematically strengthen the skills and human resource base of our country. We are drawing on the knowledge, ability and experience of all stakeholders in the sector in a partnership to tackle our skills development challenges. Our point of departure is simple: education and training is a common public good which must not be sold and traded as a commodity, where only those with money and other resources will be able to afford it. Only by providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of social background, can we contribute towards building a nation in which everyone has a stake and a common loyalty.
Therefore my department will need to develop close cooperative agreements and relationships with a wide range of stakeholders to meet the strategic objectives of the plan. This year, we have held three summits on higher education transformation, FET Colleges and skills which provided platforms for dialogue among all constituencies. The summit on skills was specifically convened, bringing together the education and training institutions, the SETAs, professional councils, employers and the labour movement, to secure a commitment and work plan to advance our country’s skills development agenda.
Ladies and gentlemen, it goes without saying that the Universities of Technology (UoTs) as key role-players in the post-school system and in particular skills development. Training future technicians and technologists through their career focused programmes, especially in the areas of engineering and the built environment should be the first priority of UoTs.
In this regard, the National Human Resource Development Strategy provides a wide scope for the role that UoTs can play in meeting the human resources needs of the country. To accelerate the training output in the priority areas of design, engineering and artisans that is critical to the manufacturing, construction and cultural industries has been stated as a key priority in the HRD-SA. The UoTs have to increase the annual output of engineering technicians, technologist and design graduates as well as develop progression learning pathways for artisan graduates. The articulation possibilities between the FET and HET sectors within an integrated post-school system is far from finalised, but hopefully this conference can contribute to improve the progression of learners and a fruitful partnership with the FET Colleges which I believe is on the agenda of this conference.
To accelerate the number of new training graduates in priority economic sectors identified in Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) and the National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF) and Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) is another strategic priority of the HRD strategy. The contribution of the UoTs towards increasing the supply of appropriately qualified people to meet the human resource demands in the areas of ICT, automotive, component manufacturing, chemicals, plastics, fabrication, pharmaceuticals, forestry, pulp, paper and furniture, tourism, bio-fuels, diamond and jewellery designs, agro-processing and the film and television industry. These are critical scarce skills that have been prioritised for the country and I do not think that there is any institutional type better positioned to provide this service than Universities of Technology.
Broadly stated, increasing access to high level occupationally–directed programmes within the fields of Engineering Sciences, Animal and Human Health, Natural and Physical Sciences and initial Teacher Education has been identified as one of the priorities that are important to sustain and develop our economy. The UoT sector is generating currently a third of the graduates within the fields of science, engineering and technology.
Our development agenda remains the central focus of public policy and forms the basis of collective endeavour in all spheres of our society. This cooperative venture cannot be achieved without the purposeful leadership and participation of all social partners, universities, national, provincial and local government departments, and also immensely important industry, business and commerce. There is a dire need within government and amongst the national government departments such as the Departments of Higher Education and Training, Science and Technology, Trade and Industry, Health and Science councils and funding agencies to achieve coherence at the level of policies as a way of maximising the probability of attaining the desired impact. National and regional collaborations amongst and within our higher education institutions should be forged, guided by the imperative not only to strengthen the partner institutions’ capacities in certain disciplinary areas, but also advance the imperatives of the skills development agenda.
In order for South Africa to stimulate its economic growth rate, it needs to prioritise post-graduate training. It should be noted that in all successful emerging economies especially those that have a high growth rate of between 6 percent- 12 percent, the quality of these countries national post-graduate education system has played a key role. The Universities, in particular the research at master’s and doctoral levels, have spurred innovation and development. Therefore the future shape of South Africa’s Science and Technology will depend on our effort to increase the research, development and innovation in human resources.
In order to achieve a growing knowledge economy we need to increase the graduate output of our Honours, research masters, doctoral and post doctorate students. It is no coincidence that Sasol and Eskom employ the largest number of PhDs of any organisation in the country, and their successful expansion and growth depends on the effectiveness of our post-graduate training system. In order for this national priority and focus to be achieved, there is a need for the University sector and the industry to work together and share resources, including laboratories.
Against this background, real benefit to society occurs when government, the higher education sector and industry collaborate in a meaningful way and leverage resources from each other to meet individual and universal goals. The UoTs have recently been at the forefront with various technology and innovation projects, demonstrated when the Minister of Science and Technology unveiled a hydrogen powered bicycle designed and developed by students of the Tshwane University of Technology at the recently held Recteza Conference. The bicycle known as “A hi fambeni” – which means “Let’s go” was developed by TUT in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology and Hydrogen South Africa and managed by the Resource Driven Technology Concept Centre (RECTEZA), which is a non-for-profit-organisation. This project is a demonstration of an “academia-industry-public” initiative that developed a rural transport system, addressing the problems of poverty and livelihood in South Africa through a culture of cutting–edge research, innovation and technology concept development which also can lead to commercialisation.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology also became the first university in the country to develop an innovative prototype of a new kind of Solar Water Heater System in collaboration with The Hague University where the system is intended to uplift low-income communities by providing them with their own hot water system. It is these kinds of projects that are exciting, especially when you compare South Africa with the developed countries.
Inter-institutional collaborations between traditional universities and UoTs need to be emphasised. A clear example is the recently acceptance of the Central University of Technology as the only UoT to be a full member of the National Medical Device Innovation Platform.
Another remarkable example is the launching in May this year of the World’s first modern general aviation engine which runs on a range of fuels. It was developed in partnership with the Universities of Technology and a Durban based company ADEPT. This ADEPT 320T engine can operate on more environmentally friendly alternatives like bio fuel or liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
Therefore in order to guarantee constant development, continuous contact between government, business and industry through strategic partnerships is urgent. By forging strategic partnerships locally and internationally, it can broaden the resources that researchers need to foster and expand South Africa's research and technological innovation capabilities and, ultimately, improve the quality of life for all. Partnership initiatives work best when there are clear incentives for each of the parties to participate. Leveraging the resources of all parties can be attractive.
It has been increasingly recognised that another important role of universities, is building the economy and improving societal conditions through innovation. California in the United States, for example, has achieved considerable economic success through technological innovation and the formation of businesses based upon those technologies which started with agriculture and the mechanical arts well over a century ago. This role has been well appreciated in California for the electronics, software, biotechnology and communication industries, and in other areas such as health care and agriculture.
The broadest contributions of California universities, to the state are the educational development of the populace and the flow of graduates at all degree levels to positions in business, government, universities, and self-employment. The California biotechnology industry provided 60,000 jobs at an average salary of $71,000. Licenses to technology from the University of California were held by 82 biotechnology companies. As is shown by the measures of success described, the most universal contributions of universities to innovation are the flow of university graduates to both new and established technological companies, along with the flow of academics themselves to these companies as both founders of start-up ventures and ongoing consultants.
South Africa as a country with a relatively small economy on a world scale, has over the years, achieved significant global recognition for important contributions to technological innovation. Many of these achievements, however, were made in other countries. South Africa is ranked 39th out of 162 countries in terms of technological achievement. It is clear that we are still largely perceived as an adopter rather than innovator of technology. To retain our global player status, we must do more to augment the imported and implanted technologies with technologies developed in South Africa. We must also develop technologies which others are keen to import from us. The imperative is to create environments that spur innovation and exploit intellectual property, to feed the technology commercialisation value chain that will ensure revenue generation. In the coming decades, the intellectual property of this country is going to be a fundamental ingredient of competitiveness. Clearly we need to do a great deal more to create and sustain competitive advantage in the international market place.
The South African government is well aware of the need to stimulate entrepreneurship, innovation and growth amongst knowledge-intensive businesses. Science and technology education, innovation and commercialisation are integral components of our National System of Innovation (NSI). The key challenges are adequate funding, skilled human resources, improved Research and Development (R&D), and protecting and exploiting intellectual property. While there have been significant increases in the expenditure on R&D - now R10,1 billion from the public and private sectors - this will need to result in an adequate level of utilisation to impact on the economy.
A number of agencies have been created to support small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and most of our universities have launched technology transfer and commercialisation offices. The Gauteng Provincial Government, through Blue IQ, took a bold step in 2000 when it announced the development of The Innovation Hub as one of its major projects to stimulate economic growth in the province. The local development is built on extensive international learning and benchmarking and as a result, has been awarded full membership of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP), the first in Africa.
Countries that fail to nurture innovation activities will find themselves in direct competition with newly industrialised countries as the latter increasingly apply existing technologies and business methods. The development and exploitation of new products, processes, services and systems and the constant upgrading of those which a country already possesses is the only way in which countries can maintain and increase their levels of economic and social prosperity. Thus the impact of innovation on productivity and growth creation is not limited to the initial introduction of new products, processes, services and systems, but also to the subsequent diffusion of new technology throughout the economy.
As government we are aware of the enormous pressure that the universities of technology have. We are aware that without a deep-rooted culture of research, universities of technology increasingly find it difficult to produce or contribute to national research at the same level as traditional universities. Therefore the DHET in consultation with the sector is looking into creative ways of assisting the universities of technology to develop their capacity in many respects in the context of limited resources. I hope that this conference will come up with concrete, workable proposals as to how we could make positive and productive interventions. Despite this need to expand research and improve its quality, I should still emphasise what I said earlier that training of future technicians and technologists through their career focused programmes should be the first priority of UoTs.
What do we need to do differently? We need to identify and remove blockages to the scarce skills supply and find creative solutions to expand access and to develop institutional forms that can raise the base of educational level and meet the demand for access to education and training for economic inclusion. We need to improve industry linkages to maximise work integrated learning and work placements, supervised professional experience, improved levels of applied learning and increase levels of industry experience and knowledge of lecturers in scarce skill disciplines. Understanding that the institutions have limited capacity to absorb more students or to respond to needs, I want to urge the UoTs to improve access and strengthen the relationship between the FET College sector in order to facilitate articulation and progression in certificate and diploma programmes.
This being said, I would urge our Universities of Technology to make it their priority to build their academic staff capacity to produce quality graduates at undergraduate and gradually increase their research and innovation capacity. This also means the development of a new generation of academics. It is also important, in the context of limited resources for the institutions to channel their resources and build strengths in niche areas. It is not helpful to spread resources widely especially in areas that we know for certain that we do not have capacity both in terms of infrastructure and qualified staff.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, it is important to highlight the importance of a strong, sound and visionary institutional leadership to help us overcome some of these challenges. In order for our institutions to fulfil their core mandate of teaching, research and community engagement, we should all be pulling in the same direction. I wish you fruitful deliberations, and as I said earlier, I hope you would be able to come up with concrete proposals to assist us with interventions that will help to put our universities of technology at the centre of education, technological development and innovation.
I am of the firm belief that dialogue among stakeholders and between them and the government is not something that should only take place only at conferences or at summits. For it to be effective it needs to be ongoing and meaningful supported by policies and practices.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Ranjeni Munusamy
Tel: 012 312 5555 or 021 465 5513
Cell: 072 571 2812
E-mail: munusamy.r@dhet.gov.za
