The University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) partnered to drive human-capacity development with the aim to further develop research, training, technology transfer and dissemination of knowledge.
Says Prof Saurabh Sinha, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, UJ: “The CSIR and UJ both have a quest for human-capacity development (HCD) and this collaboration ensures that we have highly skilled individuals to maintain South Africa’s growth in a knowledge-based world, for generations to come.”
Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UJ recently highlighted that the underlying technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is artificial intelligence and that South Africa should embrace this paradigm where physical and social phenomena are programmed to solve complex problems, when he was interviewed for an episode of ‘CNN Marketplace Africa.’
UJ plans to maximise impact on four core themes: the Fourth Industrial Revolution; establish an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Centre of Competency; push for visiting academic and/or joint appointments; and setup a steering committee to coordinate the works of the initiatives between the two institutions.
This partnership will enrich UJ due to the CSIR’s research capacity, working with respective faculties, establishing joint appointments with focus on designated candidates, and established researchers. The UJ Institute for Intelligent Systems in the area of Blockchain Systems/Technologies (possibly public-private partnership with others) will create a joint centre with the CSIR.