H. In Conversation With
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Item Origins and destinations known: learning from the tracer study of international African doctoral graduates(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)South Africa’s universities host a large considerable number of international doctoral students, of whom international Africans make up close to 40% of the eventual PhD graduates. Immigration policy requires the graduates to return ‘home’ upon completion, raising the question - where do they go to? The conventional wisdom is these highly-skilled graduates will leave the continent for opportunities in the North. This lack of information presents a serious gap in evidence for policy making. With NRF support a tracer study of International African doctoral graduates of the five research universities was carried out over the period 2012- 2016. Performing the tracer study called for dealing with severe informational obstacles. The online survey achieved a 42% return rate and provides robust, and quite surprising insights.Item Reimagining the national space sector(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)SANSA was launched by the Department of Science and Innovation with a mandate to: “...Provide for the promotion and use of space and cooperation in space-related activities, foster research in space science, advance scientific engineering through human capital and support the creation of an environment conducive to industrial development in space technologies within the framework of national government policy...” Significant strides have since been made by the Agency since its formative years some ten years ago. While these achievements are acknowledged and celebrated, much more work still lies ahead in terms of implementation of the new business model to enhance SANSA’s contribution to satellite development and testing, satellite navigation, human capital development and research and innovation amongst other key areas.Item Pandemic ethics: how have we fared?(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)Webinar hosted on 4 May 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised profound ethical, legal and social issues set against a backdrop of global health and socio-economic inequities. The ethical issues have ranged from restrictions on personal liberties in the public interest to distributive justice in access to limited resources like ventilators and critical care beds. Many of these ethical debates have been advanced with COVID-19 vaccines - inequitable access, vaccine diplomacy and vaccine nationalism. History will judge us for how we have responded - solidarity and social justice or "catastrophic moral failure"?Item Discovery in a time of pestilence - lessons from the future for exploration during the pandemic(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)Prof Himla Soodyall in conversation with Prof Lee Berger. The global pandemic has left many areas of science in disarray. With international travel curtailed, laboratory spaces and field sites unsuitable due to transmission risks, many research projects have ceased, with scientists often adopting a “wait until we get back to normal” attitude. However, as we find ourselves nearly a year and a half into the pandemic, and as new variants of COVID-19 arise, it is becoming clear that science must adapt to this “new normal”. In this talk and discussion, Professor Berger explored his team’s experiences during COVID-19, how they prepared for the pandemic in advance, and how they invented solutions for working in a COVID-19 world. These novel approaches have not only allowed his teams to keep working during even the height of the pandemic, but have resulted in spectacular new discoveries related to human origins. He also explored what he perceives as the many potential opportunities that have arisen due to these global changes, many of which may have surprisingly long-term positive impact on scientists living and working outside of the global North.Item Astronomy in Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)Astronomy is one of the most challenging of all scientific endeavours, requiring technologies and skills that are usually beyond the reach of what is currently available. As such it is a field that pushes the boundaries of human capacity and moves us into new realms of discovery, technology and thought. In this talk Kevin Govender and Vanessa McBride reflect on Astronomy in Africa and explore how this continent has become a global player, if not leader, in this field, and what this means for how the world sees us. They touch on the exciting science being done in Africa; the incredible infrastructure both current and planned; the vibrant and growing network of African astronomers; and the opportunities presented by events like the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which is to be held for the first time in Africa in 2024.Item Science, human rights and activism(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2022-03-09) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)In celebration of Human Rights Day 2022, Prof Abdool Karim chatted to us on what led him to take on activism, his journey with HIV, the juxta positioning of science and politics and how academics should manage policy-related issues. We discussed his impression on the scorecard on human rights issues and the COVID pandemic and the most critical things regarding human rights. In this informal conversation, we got to know more about the man, his journey and his mission.