The South African Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande address on the occasion of the Ist-Africa Conference held at CSIR ICC
H.E. Ambassador Sandra Kramer, European Union’s Ambassador to South Africa and Head of EU Delegation to South Africa in absentia; Acting DG Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT, Ms Nonkqubela Thathakahle Jordan-Dyani;
Mr David Ringrose from the European Commissions DG Connect, (joining us online from Brussels);
Dr Lumkile Mondi, Wits University, South Africa; Ms Pontsho Maruping, SARAO, South Africa;
Mr Ganesh Rasagam, The World Bank Group, South Africa;
Ms Lesley Donna Williams, Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct,
South Africa;
Mr Marius Engelbreght, Huawei Southern Africa Region; IST-Africa partners on the Continent;
Government Representatives and Industry Representatives; Members of the research community;
Distinguished guests;
Members of the media;
Good morning and welcome to the IST-Africa Conference, being hosted by my Department of Science and Innovation (DSI).
I also would like to welcome and appreciate the team from the International Information Management Corporation (IIMC) Ireland, and representatives from Ministries and National Councils responsible for Information Society in our African continent, who worked with the DSI team to put this conference together.
It is an opportune moment that such a discussion is taking place and starting on the last day of the African Month, as we celebrated Africa Day on the 25th May.
Africa Day is an opportunity to celebrate African diversity and success, and to highlight the cultural and economic potential that exists on the African continent.
The IST-Africa conference being hosted in Africa provides us with another opportunity not only to reflect but to come up with solutions as we continue to grapple with some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Given the multitude of global challenges that we face, including climate change, food security, health, energy, amongst others, there is an increasingly important role that ICT can play in providing possible solutions.
Within this context, equally, there is also an important role for international cooperation in science, technology and innovation in providing innovative solutions.
We therefore need our collective resources, to work together to address these challenges, across various disciplines, regions and sectors.
Ladies and gentlemen
Science knows no borders; however, it provides key platforms for initiatives and cooperation that transcend boundaries.
This is the reason that the theme for my Budget Vote 2023 which I tabled in Parliament last week was "Using science, technology and innovation to grow our country and together resolve its challenges".
South Africa’s investment in science, technology and innovation is driven by our government’s objective to accelerate sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
As Government, we are guided by South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP) - a comprehensive growth and development strategy, which emphasizes the role of science, technology and innovation in achieving its Vision 2030.
Through our White Paper on Science and Innovation, our government has adopted a whole-of-society approach to innovation, implemented through the Decadal plan, which is the implementation mechanism to the White Paper and has become one of the instruments for implementing our Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) and to build a capable State.
On a global level, the decadal plan responds to the objectives of our sustainable development goals.
One of its key objectives include accelerating the implementation of the pan-African STI agenda and focusing on inclusivity, transformation, SMME support and job creation, amongst others.
As a Department, we recognize that there has been a rapid technological change, driven primarily by technology that enables the fusion of the physical and digital worlds.
To adequately respond to this rapid technological change, the Decadal
Plan identified five (5) foundational digital domains, i.e.
- Artificial Intelligence/Robotics/Cybernetics;
- Augmented/Virtual/Mixed Reality;
- Modelling and Simulation;
- Block Chain & Cybersecurity; and
- Internet of Things/Cloud Computing, in which South Africa will focus its resources in the next 10 years. The aim is to build the foundational capabilities in these domains over the next 10 years.
In order to ensure that we encourage innovation, we have established an Innovation fund and this year we are committed to upscale its implementation in order to support the early development and expansion stages of technology-based South African firms.
We also remain resolute to increase our gross domestic investment in research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product, with the aim of achieving the National Development Plan's target of 1,5%.
Ladies and gentlemen
My Department of Science and Innovation has established a 10-year Foundational Digital Capabilities Research (FDCR) Programme, which is the anchor intervention in support of the Decadal Plan priority of “The digital economy as a new source of economic and social development”.
Our FDCR is deliberate on building the foundational digital capabilities that are required to form the building blocks of application development and customisation within all the economic sectors that could be leveraged for South Africa to leapfrog into the Digital Economy space.
To date, through this instrument, we have assessed over 89 locally developed technologies with a few promising technologies selected for acquisition and deployment in schools, waste management and pollution management, as well as to fight crime in society.
The DSI will prioritize initiatives for inclusive development and intellectual property exploitation in ICT, renewable energy and the circular economy. The focus on facilitating the commercialization of grassroots innovation and access to publicly available intellectual property will be pursued, with support for entrepreneurs.
As Africans, we are aware of the social and economic challenges facing our continent.
It is therefore important that as part of the research and innovation programmes we fund, we must continue to ask pertinent questions about transformation and inclusivity, which should include dimensions such as Demographics; Translation of Research Results into social and economic benefits to society; Digital transformation of the STI business and establishment of a digital economy.
I am particularly pleased today this IST-Africa serves as a platform that continues to engage with a variety of stakeholders from both the public and private sector, as well as involving the voice of our youth to have conversations on these issues including, the role of ICT.
I have also noted that discussion over the coming days will also focus on themes such as eHealth; Societal Implications of Technology; Next Generation Computing and Cyber Security.
DSI Strategic initiatives
As a Department of Science and Innovation we continue to support the broader work of Government through our strategic STI initiatives.
We have prioritized our involvement in Health Innovation, particularly in the areas of Medical Device and Diagnostic Innovation, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Technology Innovation and Supporting health needs through vaccine research, development and manufacturing strategy.
We are also committed to support the procurement of locally developed technologies through the Technology Acquisition and Deployment Fund (TADF).
We prioritize initiatives for inclusive development and intellectual property exploitation in ICT, renewable energy and the circular economy.
Through our Mobile Applications Laboratory or MLab, we will be establishing a community-centred coding laboratory and start an ecosystem development programme focused on school learners and selected community members.
In partnership with local actors, our Living Labs Programme has established eleven (11) community-embedded labs in rural villages and townships. These are KwaMashu, Cato Manor and Kokstad (KwaZulu- Natal), Athlone (Western Cape), Bofolo and New Brighton (Eastern Cape), Phuthaditjhaba (Free State), Rakgatla and Mosiane (North West), and Kuruman and Barkly West (Northern Cape).
The labs provide specialized innovation infrastructure and innovation support programme to mentor young tech entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize/deploy technological solutions to address local economic challenges in communities.
The outcomes have included supporting 200 aspiring innovators through design thinking training, the development of 28 prototypes and 17 market- ready products, and the registration of 14 businesses.
We continue to identify grassroots innovators, especially women and young people, and to assist them to enhance their innovations and skills through a range of interventions, including funding and business development support towards pre-commercialisation.
Through our Innovation for Service Delivery Programme, which is aimed at improving the provision of basic service delivery in municipalities, we have partnered with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), to expand the number of municipalities participating in the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index (MIMI).
This tool, which is now digitised, provides critical information on the innovation capabilities and readiness of local government to adopt innovation and technology.
These are amongst the many examples that I can highlight to indicate South Africa’s commitment towards ensuring using STI to address the challenges facing our communities and to grow our economy.
Support for Agenda 2063
South Africa has strategic bilateral and multilateral engagements with other African countries and works closely in support of Agenda 2063 which is Africa’s strategic framework that aims to deliver Africa inclusive and sustainable development pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.
The achievement of Aspiration 1 of Agenda 2063 “A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development” requires that Africa makes significant investments in education with the aim of developing human and social capital through an education and skills revolution emphasizing innovation, science and technology.
In our previous financial year, as a Department we have supported a total of 5 643 honours and master's students, and 2 527 PhD students in line with the equity targets of race, gender and nationality set in our new DSI- National Research Foundation (NRF) postgraduate funding policy.
We continue to invest in research through strategic research instruments, such as the South African Research Chairs Initiative and the centres of excellence.
To date, 257 research chairs have been established, of which 216 are operational. Of the operational chairs, 48% are held by women.
Over the past three years, the DSI has, through the DSI-NRF Internship and the National Youth Service Programmes, placed over 3 000 unemployed graduates at research institutions and science centres throughout the country. Over 90% of these interns were black and 60% were women.
Square Kilometre Array
We continue to work with other partners on the African Continent and beyond to build what is truly a global research infrastructure, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
The SKA will serve as a springboard towards enhanced digital drivers for growth, enhance skills and strengthen the digital innovation ecosystem in Africa.
Let me indicate that we have already commenced with the construction of the SKA project in South Africa.
Our construction together with that of Australia forms the biggest-ever radio telescope array. It is estimated that these two sites will together create 710 petabytes of science data when fully operational in 2029.
It is therefore expected that astronomers can get 50 years or more of transformational science through the SKA. The initiative is expected to boost science awareness and outreach, stimulate science tourism in the region and create employment.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged globally as a 4IR transformative technology that has the potential to revolutionize education.
The development of AI systems is one such area that has seen significant progress in recent years in South Africa. These systems are designed to enhance communication between students, lecturers, researchers, and educational institutions.
Universities, through AI research and innovation are pivotal in positioning
South Africa as a global technological competitor.
As the Minister also responsible for Higher Education and Training, the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training acknowledges that as digital technologies have become more accessible in South Africa, it is therefore critical to incorporate this element into conceptualizing different modes of education and training provision.
AI research and innovation is targeting various sectors of the country’s economy, such as 4IR in manufacturing (value chain), Healthcare, and Farming/Agriculture and food processing (Agriculture 5.0).
Some of them are working with the AI Institute of South Africa (AIISA) that has a great potential to help fight the problem of youth unemployment by imparting the much-needed modern skills that will turn them into job creators and shapers of the 21st century workplace.
Catalytic projects have already been established at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and University of Johannesburg (UJ), which have initiated engagements of how AI can become the engine of economic advancement in various sectors.
Through the formation of AI Institute of South Africa, South Africa is also poised to become a significant player in the global landscape.
The establishment of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR) is a further significant development in AI research in South Africa.
It is a South African national research network that conducts foundational, directed and applied research into various aspects of AI. The Centre has nodes at five of our South African universities.
These are just some of the initiatives that my Department is supporting that collectively enables the digital and ICT conversations to move forward towards impact at a broader societal level.
Conclusion
As I conclude, I hope that the objectives of this IST-Africa contribute to:
- Strategic engagements with Africa on International Research, Innovation and Policy Cooperation,
- fostering greater coordination of ICT-related research and innovation activities;
- Knowledge sharing, capacity building and skills transfer between IST-Africa Partner Countries;
- Enhanced global engagements, including through the Africa – EU Strategic Partnership (ICT-enabled Research and Innovation supporting Sustainable Development); and
- Supporting the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024).
I also hope that the conference engagements over the next few days also serve to further strengthen partnership and cooperation in STI within our continent.
It is through such partnerships, that we will enrich the global scientific knowledge base to address our global challenges and build lasting international partnerships.
As a Minister, I am also committed to work with my counterparts in the continent to establish and Africa Research Fund to support research and development priorities for our continent - an African Research Agenda!
I would lastly like to encourage you to network throughout the conference in order for all of us to see the impact of the IST-Africa 2023 conference in action going forward.
Thank you.
