Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), along with Stellenbosch University, is co-host to the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Scientometrics and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (SciSTIP). This function is being headed by the institution’s chief director of the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation, Dr Rasigan Maharajh, assisted by Dr Erika Kraemer-Mbula. They make a strong case for promoting science, technology and innovation that is relevant to the country’s development agenda and objectives.
“Science, technology and innovation are fundamental drivers of socio-economic and political development,” they explain. Scoped globally and on an evolutionary time-scale, translating knowledge into practice has enabled our collective success as a species and improved our wellbeing.
“However, progress resulting from technical and social change has not been uniformly distributed, and hence, inequalities abound in a world that is both closely interdependent and unevenly developed.”