News in brief - 2007

May 07 -
Ms Sara Farley from the World Bank, is presenting on this topic on 8 May 2007, from 10 - 11am, at the University of Pretoria, Post-graduate Centre, Room 1-56. Sara is an expert on international collaboration. She is visiting South Africa as guest of SARIMA. She will participate in the SARIMA conference as invited speaker. Her background is STI (Science, Technology and Innnovation).

March 07 -
On Friday 23 March NACI had it's last seminar under the leadership of the current Executive Director, Dr Bok Marais, who is leaving at the end of the month. Dr Marais reflected on STI policy in the past (pre-1994, the period of transformation: 1994-2002), the current environment and future challenges. His presentation led to a lively discussion and left the attendees with food for thought. The presentation is available for downloading here.

February 07 -
South Africa's Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Derek Hanekom will make a presentation at the Science Technology and Innovation (STI) global forum. It will take place from 13-15 February in the USA and will be hosted by the World Bank. Deputy Minister Hanekom expects that this forum will be an opportunity to share the lessons learnt in South Africa and also to learn from other countries experiences on how to build STI capacity in order to reduce poverty.

February 07 -
Mr Vuyani Lingela has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the NACI Secretariat, with effect from 1 April 2007. He is currently based in Tokyo, Japan where he is the Counsellor for Science and Technology at the South African Embassy. He was Deputy Director in the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa before he took up the position in Japan. Mr Lingela is currently registered for a PhD in Technology Management at the University of Pretoria. He has also studied in Israel and Japan and holds a Masters degree in Agriculture from the University of Pretoria.

February 07 -
The NACI Indicator Reference Group extended its membership to include Dr. Ulrich Schmoch from the Fraunhofer Institute in Karlsrohe, Germany and Dr. John Mugabe from the Nepad office for S&T. Ulrich Schmoch is a mechanical engineer and social scientist by training and is the director of the Taskforce for “Innovation Indicators” at Fraunhofer Institute.  He is the author of numerous publications, especially in the fields of innovation indicators and interaction of science and technology. His research areas include science and technology indicators, technology forecast, research planning and models of innovation process.
Dr John Mugabe is the Science and Technology Advisor to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and Secretary of NEPAD’s African Ministerial Council for Science and Technology. Mugabe holds a doctorate degree in environment and technology policy (with emphasis on technological capability for biodiversity conservation) . His current research work focus on the role of science in improving decision-making on matters pertaining to the development and application of new technologies. He has published on technology policy in Africa, biodiversity management, implications of biotechnology for developing economies, and institutional arrangements for environmental sustainability.

Jan 07 -
" Investment in research and development (R&D) in Europe would appear to be stagnant, according to preliminary figures from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. Although growing by 1.5% since 2001, R&D expenditure in the EU27 in 2005 stood at 1.84% of GDP - the same as in 2004. "