News
From 2 to 4 December 2023, the Data-intensive Research Initiative of South Africa (DIRISA) hosted the Student Datathon Challenge (SDC) at the Kruger Grate Hotel.
DIRISA is a programme of the National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System (NICIS), a national initiative of the Department of Science and Innovation and is implemented by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The theme of the 2023 SDC focused on addressing youth unemployment by using open data to create innovative and creative data-driven solutions. Themes are always geared towards addressing societal problems in South Africa while aligning with sustainable development goals.
Dr Nobubele Shozi, Data Stewardship Manager at DIRISA, says “Youth unemployment is a devasting challenge facing our country. The Datathon has shown the capabilities and innovation that the youth of South Africa have towards solving daily issues faced by the country through technology and creative thinking. We are thankful to our sponsors, Korbicom Education Trust, Spectralogic, and Momentum, for seeing the vision that we have through the Datathon and believing in the problems the students solve and the innovations that they create.”
The Collaborative Program in Additive Manufacturing (CPAM) invites companies to respond to a Call for Proposals (CFP) for an SMME support development program for access to additive manufacturing (AM) design and prototype production (printing) expertise support.
The first of three mobile robots developed by the CSIR intended for local universities were delivered to the University of Pretoria in December. The other two are heading for Stellenbosch and Cape Town respectively in the coming weeks.
Technology investment and innovation will be at the heart of Africa’s growth and technology development.
Dr Reevana Balmahoon, research group leader for Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), was one of the speakers at the Africa Tech Festival, which took place in Cape Town from 13 to 16 November 2023.
A borehole on the premises of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Stellenbosch became the focal point of a study in which a CSIR research team set out to determine the amount of water that can be abstracted from the borehole without depleting it or causing a negative impact for future users.
A team of researchers have developed a global oceanic net primary production data product that will help them determine how seasonal characteristics affect productivity in the ocean and how this will modify environmental conditions in the long term. Details about the product were published in the international journal, Earth System Science Data.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) continuous outstanding stakeholder partnership took centre stage at the Rand Water’s (RW) 120-year Legacy Celebration and Awards ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton on Friday, 24 November 2023.
The CSIR lifted an award that highlights the organisational EPIC values: Collaboration – the Rand Water Partnership award.
The Partnership award is presented by RW to a stakeholder that has consistently demonstrated the following:
This year’s Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance (AAORIA) Forum was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 21 and 22 November 2023. Joining other African countries represented at the forum was the CSIR-hosted Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observatory (SOCCO) research programme.