Professor Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Pretoria
Dr Sibusiso Sibisi, President and CEO of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Mr Abiel Mngomezulu, CEO and President, Mintek
Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, President and CEO, National Research Foundation (NRF)
Her Excellency, Mrs AJ Awosika, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in Nigeria
Mr Jong Min Kim, Fellow, Senior Vice-President and Research Director at Samsung
Professor Paras N Prasad, Head of Photonics and Biophotonics at the US Institute for Lasers
Professor James I Jin, former President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Professor Aboubaker Chedikh Beye, Mrs General Secretary
Professor François Kajzar, ICFPAM Conference International Chair
Professor Helen Gleeson, University of Manchester
Dr Josephat Zimba, President, African Materials Research Society
Professor Tebello Nyokong, Head of the Department of Science and Technology's (DST) Nanotechnology Innovation Centre in Grahamstown
Professor Walter W Focke, National and Symposium Chair and Chair of the DST's Carbon Technology and Materials at the University of Pretoria:
Let me start by thanking you for inviting me to address this very important conference - the 11th International Conference on Frontiers of Polymers and Advanced Materials.
It’s encouraging that this prestigious conference has been primarily hosted in developing countries. The conference fulfils an important role in the dissemination of knowledge and establishing of networks between academia, government and industry.
I’m also pleased that South African researchers and industry are well represented at the conference as is evident by the large number of local papers and posters.
The significance of this conference does not only lie in its highly technical content but also in the fact that it provides students, scientists and engineers from the African continent with a unique opportunity to interface and share experiences with their counterparts from various parts of the globe.
The Department of Science and Technology is proud to be one of the sponsors of this international event.
Advanced materials and technologies is not just a critical area of research, but is also an area that holds immeasurable potential for economic development, especially for developing countries like South Africa that are natural-resource rich.
South Africa’s New Growth Path economic policy has set job creation as a national priority. The New Growth Path has fixed six priority areas for job creation, namely - infrastructure development, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, the "green" economy and tourism.
While South Africa is richly endowed with mineral resources, there is a pressing need for mineral-resource beneficiation to unlock economic value and to create jobs. In this context, advanced materials and technologies are critical to the integral contribution of our natural and mineral resources to sustainable economic development.
The Department of Science and Technology has taken some important steps in developing our national capabilities - with separate, but related, programmes in the areas of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing.
In advanced materials, the Department of Science and Technology is funding a project on titanium beneficiation and its associated advanced manufacturing technologies. The Titanium Centre of Competence is making good progress in developing new methods for titanium powder production. Downstream technology blocks are being developed in areas such as investment casting, laser additive manufacturing and bespoke medical implants.
Our manufacturing interventions have principally been carried out under South Africa’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Nanotechnology strategies.
Our Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy aims to identify priority sectors that have the greatest potential for supporting relevant national and social goals. It also aims to stimulate technological upgrading in industry; to facilitate the flow of technological resources to industry through new knowledge networks to foster innovation; and to facilitate the building of an environment conducive to innovation, particularly through the supply of skilled manpower, technology infrastructure and funds.
In contrast, the objectives of the Nanotechnology Strategy are to support long-term nanoscience research that will lead to a fundamental understanding of the design, synthesis, characterisation, modeling and fabrication of nanomaterials; support the creation of new and novel devices for application in various areas; develop the required human and supporting infrastructure resources; and stimulate new developments in technology missions, for example advanced materials for advanced manufacturing and nano-bio materials for biotechnology.
The DST has invested over R300 million in the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy over the last five to seven years, primarily in the form of research grants for flagship programmes and human capital development. These flagship programmes include advanced lightweight materials, advanced electronics and advanced production technologies.
The DST recognises the need to increase the level of funding in order to continue with existing programmes, to expand the programme into new areas that will help improve the competitiveness of South African industry and help towards reversing the de-industrialisation of the local manufacturing sector.
For this reason, it’s also worth noting that the DST is actively supporting several research networks. These include the four networks of the Advanced Metals Initiative, the Biocomposites Network, the Green Chemistry Network, the Fluorochemical Expansion Initiative Network, and the Green Economy/ Environmental Technologies Network.
Like all countries that have taken a conscious decision to enhance their capacity to innovate in the domain of advanced materials and polymers, we have to train more researchers, scientists, engineers and techno-entrepreneurs in these domains.
We have made the training of postgraduate students one of our main priorities. One of our key goals is to ensure that as many young people, in particular young women, as possible are able to take up careers in the advanced materials and related disciplines.
This is another reason why conferences such as this one are crucial.
This conference is a unique blend of science, technology and business. It brings together not only leading international scientists and engineers, but also top level industrial management and business executives for discussions on the current status of advanced materials, emerging technologies and industrial and business opportunities.
The DST (and government in general) is committed to building strong relations with the private sector.
The DST-CSIR-Airbus project on natural fibres for cabin interiors is one such example of novel technology that could create jobs in South Africa. Another example is the DST-CSIR-Aerosud project on advanced additive layer manufacturing with titanium powder.
I should add that the development and commercialisation of advanced materials based on natural resources (advanced biocomposites) is a key industry development cluster in the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP2) of the Department of Trade and Industry.
We recognise that despite our strategic strengths in specific scientific areas, the best impact is really achieved through joint efforts, partnerships and networks. It is for this reason that the DST is making a large effort in building strategic partnerships with particular emphasis on furthering our knowledge and technology, developing human capital and expanding our scientific infrastructure.
For instance, we have formed a number of strategic partnerships in the area of nanotechnology. Within the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) alliance, a nanotechnology research plan is being implemented. A number of European universities and institutes are involved in Research and Development for the Titanium Centre of Competence.
South Africa will continue to support conferences of this nature, not only because they assist us to address our own priorities, but also because of their contribution to the resolution of global challenges like energy security and the protection of the environment.
It is therefore my sincere wish that you will not only continue with the groundbreaking work that you are doing, but that you will also find ways of ensuring that your work finds practical expression in the lives of the billions of ordinary people, across the world, who for one reason or the other do not have the means to access critical information that is shared in conferences such as this one.
I wish you a fruitful conference and wonderful stay in our beautiful country.
I thank you.
