Lerato Mbhiza
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a R1-billion investment from the National Skills Fund called the Presidential PhD Initiative for Science and Technology PhD students.
“The first phase aims to expose our country’s brightest young minds to cutting-edge thinking and research by negotiating opportunities at world-leading universities and research centres,” said Ramaphosa during the inaugural Presidential Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Plenary in Pretoria.
The initiative will build critical skills in artificial intelligence research, advanced biotechnology, fuel cell development, battery storage, and next-generation mining, he said.
Ramaphosa called on the private sector and international partners to assist in growing the investment for the Presidential PhD Initiative fund to R5-billion by 2030 saying science, technology and innovation are essential for economies to thrive.
“According to the 2022 Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, South Africa ranked 61st out of the 132 economies featured for innovation capabilities. Our country performs above the upper-middle-income group average in three areas, namely market sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.”
South Africa has made significant strides in higher education, with the number of students graduating from public universities increasing from about 60,000 in 1994 to about 230,000 by 2018, he said.
“The share of graduates in science, engineering and technology fields has been increasing compared to graduates in the humanities.
“In 2021, gross expenditure on R&D in South Africa was 0.6% of GDP, far below our target of 1.5%. By comparison, in 2022, the US spent 2.6% and South Korea spent 5% of their respective GDPs on research and development.”
Despite the demands on the economy, Ramaphosa said the situation needs attention while he pointed out that the jobs fund was investing in science and technology activities that directly contribute to sustainable job creation and small business development.
“Earlier this month, the Technology Innovation Agency issued a call for proposals from grassroots innovators looking for funding and technical assistance on developing new products or processes.”
Scientific innovation was harnessed during the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country in 2022 and given the reality of climate change, Ramaphosa said, this kind of scientific collaboration will become increasingly important because “it is clear that we are certainly progressing but not at the pace we should be”.
INSIDE EDUCATION
