South Africa and EU build closer S&T ties

South Africa and the European Commission have held talks encouraging closer co-operation in science, technology and innovation.

Derek Hanekom, the South African Minister for Science and Technology, met with representatives of several European Commission services and European research funding organisations at a high-level dinner held in Brussels. It’s understood the talks focused on how the country could further develop its research and innovation sector through collaboration with the EU.

South Africa will also co-host the world’s largest radio telescope as part of the Square Kilometre Array project, which is helping to boost the continent’s human capital, according to CORDIS.

In an interview carried out in Brussels and published on the EU’s CORDIS Wire, Hanekom said: “Developing human capital for science and technology is a policy priority of the utmost importance in South Africa and Africa. Our radio astronomy initiatives are playing an important part to contribute to these objectives and we have seen some exciting results already with students from African countries following post-graduate courses at South African universities and then returning to their countries of origin to establish astronomy courses at local universities.”

South Africa benefitted from €27.5m of FP7 funding, awarded to 158 projects co-ordinated by 195 organisations.