The University of South Africa (Unisa) is bringing together innovative thinkers from across the globe for their Research & Innovation Week from today (2 March) to Friday (6 March).
The Research & Innovation Week creates a knowledge sharing platform and will open doors to collaborative research.
The possibility to drive not only change, but meaningful societal progress across a range of fields – agriculture, medicine and health, education – in order to tangibly improve people’s lives is the impetus for the creation of Unisa’s Research & Innovation Portfolio.
Investment in academic research has never been more of a priority than today because of the ability innovative research has to transform people’s lives for the better.
The profound impact that innovation in research has had on populations across the globe is resounding. This impact is perhaps best displayed in emerging markets and the developing world as academic research continues to play a pivotal role in responding to social and economic challenges.
According to Prof Phakeng, vice-principal: Research & Innovation at Unisa: “In a country like South Africa where we are faced with multiple crises that range from load shedding to poor education and healthcare, research presents sustainable solutions to address some of these persistent and mammoth challenges. There are huge benefits from innovation in research for not only for researchers but most importantly South African communities.”
With the intent to be relevant and responsive to current issues, this year’s Research & Innovation Week kicks off with the subject of “Transformation in higher education”.
“Academia has made and continues to make huge contributions to societal development through research and platforms like Research & Innovation Week bear testimony to some of these contributions and really illustrate the importance of such initiatives for our future” concludes Prof Phakeng.
