Director-General Smits;
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my hope that just as astronomy is a trail-blazing frontier science, our early morning discussions, will set the direction for rich discussions during the rest of the day’s programme.
In opening this session I thought it would be appropriate to share with you a brief reflection on why South Africa is investing in astronomy, as a priority platform for research and innovation.
Over the past few years, we have consistently worked to present the case for astronomy, as a priority focus area for science partnerships between Africa and Europe. For many observers of Africa-EU cooperation such a proposition may be surprising at first hand, given Africa’s pressing socio-economic challenges, and some may harbour doubts regarding astronomy’s relevance for development.
We are, however, in a position to not only respond with policy rhetoric, but with concrete results. Outcomes of programmes such as South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope demonstrate astronomy’s potential to be an unrivalled platform for training the next generation of African scientists and engineers, and to drive innovation in vital economic sectors such as ICT infrastructure and energy.
But why prioritise astronomy? Identifying the most appropriate focus areas for Africa’s major science and technology investments can best be done by identifying those areas where Africa enjoys a comparative advantage over other regions.
Astronomy is a discipline in which Africa enjoys a considerable comparative advantage, due to the excellent conditions for observation on our continent. We have access to the Southern skies, with large territories unscarred by light pollution or radio-interference. We are determined to exploit this geographic advantage for the maximum of science and our continent.
The South African Government is investing in astronomy as a priority science mission. South Africa is already home to the Southern African Large Telescope, the single biggest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. It is part of a partnership which includes the involvement of several European countries. South Africa is not the only African country, which plays host to leading global astronomy facilities. There is also the example of the HESS gamma-ray telescope in Namibia, a unique African-European partnership initiative, which in 2007 was awarded the European Union’s prestigious Descartes Prize for scientific excellence.
But perhaps most significantly, South Africa and its partners in eight other African countries, in May won the bid to jointly host the largest components of the Square Kilometre Array or (SKA), which will be the world’s most powerful radio telescope. As mentioned, South Africa is already constructing the MeerKAT telescope, which will be integrated into the first phase of SKA. There is much excitement in Europe regarding MeerKAT’s potential and several of Europe’s leading radio astronomers have already been given future observation time to use the telescope from 2016.
We are a country that must invest in human capital and build a skilled workforce. The potential of astronomy to be a vehicle for encouraging a greater interest in scientific careers among the youth is immense. Astronomy is proving to be an unrivalled instrument for science education in terms of the excitement it generates among our youth. It is, thus, no surprise that astronomy’s impact on development is enjoying increased policy attention, as recognised by the International Astronomy Union’s decision to establish a dedicated Astronomy for Development Office in Cape Town, South Africa.
Training programmes in radio astronomy are helping us to grow Africa’s future workforce of knowledge workers and engineers. We already have promising results. As a result of the various human capital development programmes associated with Africa’s SKA bid, new astronomy programmes have been established at several African universities, including in Kenya, Madagascar and Mozambique.
Policymakers often talk about brain circulation to mitigate brain drain. We are achieving such mutually beneficial partnerships. Under our programmes several post-graduate African students are working at European universities, contributing to knowledge generation in Europe, but leading European astronomers have also been taking up positions in Africa through the South African Research Chairs programme. We have seven Research Chairs dedicated to support South Africa's participation in the SKA project.
Astronomy not only benefits human capital development. The development of research infrastructures is also significantly boosted through targeted investments. These investments also encourage the development of research infrastructures of use to the broader scientific community such as high-speed research networks and computing resources.
In this regard you may be aware of our plans to develop an African Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network to contribute to global radio astronomy programmes. South Africa and several partner countries in Africa have identified several ground satellite segment communication dishes across the continent, which have now become redundant because of the construction of optical fibre networks.
These dishes can be converted without major expense to form part of a VLBI Network. Already there is ongoing work by a group of African scientists and engineers on the conversion of a 32m satellite communication antenna in Kuntunse, Ghana and the initiation of preparatory work in Mozambique. These are tangible steps taken by Africa to invest in research infrastructures, which will benefit global science.
Investments in these research infrastructures have rich potential to contribute to socio-economic development in the regions where they are located. Employment opportunities are created. Basic services and infrastructures are developed in regions, which are sometimes in remote, rural areas. There are multiple opportunities for African and European industries to work together in this context.
As a result of our construction of the SALT and MeerKAT telescopes, South Africa also has flourishing astronomy-based design and engineering cooperation with the likes of IBM, Intel, Telespazio, Finmeccanica and Nokia Siemens Networks. Opportunities for South African-based high technology content enterprises have also been stimulated.
It was the promising results of this cooperation, which prompted us to propose for inclusion in the ESOF Science-2-Business programme a session on the role of astronomy as driver for innovation and the development of business clusters. I would again like to thank all speakers and participants, who have joined us for what I have no doubt will be a rich discussion on this topic. Yes, astronomy will unlock the secrets of the universe but it is also a vehicle for growth and development. This morning I hope we can share our experience and learn from each other to unleash this potential with even greater success. I look forward to a rich debate.
Speech by Naledi Pandor MP, Minister of Science and Technology, at ESOF Science-2- Business Session on “Turning Astronomy into Business Clusters”
