EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We have come to the end of our 2016-2020 IOP. Achievements for the university across the years in the area of research and innovation has been significant. I will use the opportunity to reflect on the IOP period and specific outputs during 2020 are reflected in the report. In 2016, as a collective with the Deputy Deans of Research the then first DVC: Research and Innovation, Prof. Frans Swanepoel introduced the research strategy 2016-2020. Figure 1 illustrates the Research Strategy that guided the implementation plan of interventions for outcomes over the next 5 years.

A: ESTABLISHING THE UWC AS A LEADING UNIVERSITY

The Institution strives to become known for producing research that has local relevance and global impact. During the initial part of my term, the central question I challenged the university community to grapple with was: “How do we make research count?” I focused on developing a culture in which we moved from describing research outcomes in terms of challenges, toward effective knowledge translation that indicated or contributed to relevant solutions. Similarly, I challenged the research community to develop an intentional awareness of and engagement with the link between our research foci, underlying values and that for which we want to be renowned. This will help the outside world relate to our autonomous position and value our contribution through our research and postgraduate offering. Developing a model that allows all stakeholders to take ownership, including our researchers, our administrators and the communities we wish to impact upon, became a key sub-strategy towards a contextually sensitive and relevant public image and a strong, attractive research focus and contribution (Pages 44-61 COVID research and SDG Research). This capacity building approach was applied at all levels to ensure that we identified, established, developed and strengthened emerging niche areas. By extension, this meant that capacitation of established researchers and emerging researchers was critically important (Page 34-43).

The UWC developed strong niche areas in each faculty that Deans review in their annual reports. Faculties identified research hubs and focus areas that were supported to become niche areas as part of the strategic vision of the respective Deans supported by the Deputy Deans of Research. Similarly, the strategic application for SARCHi Chairs and subsequent appointments helped to solidify the research productivity of the university. Through my office the Faculties and Research Chairs are supported to maintain and develop the niche areas and we are continuing to support our established researchers and research centres was key to the success of the university.

Position UWC as one of the leading research universities in South Africa with local relevance, regional impact and global recognition

Research focus areas with sustained reputation for innovation, relevance, research/teaching linkages

Critical mass of contented, inspiring research leaders & mentors that are well supported by research services

Well-prepared corps of next-generation researchers through supportive approaches to postgraduate training & early career staff development

Increase in research that contributes to focus areas & matters of real significance at the highest levels of competence

Flexible, efficient governance & management systems that value continuous improvement, accountability, & fast decision making

Growth in technological and social innovations contributing to development

Establish an enabling environment within which cutting-edge research and knowledge transfer can be effectively and efficiently supported and nurtured, including a leading library Develop productive relationships and partnerships locally, in Africa and globally that enable a substantial place in the knowledge economy and add value through knowledge transfer. Ensure financial sustainability and diversified funding sources

Figure 1: UWC Research Strategy 2016-2020

Some achievements include:

1. Renewal of the Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) partnership between the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria, and University of the Western

Cape. The overarching goal of IDIA is to build capacity and expertise within the South African university partners in the following areas: i) data-intensive research to enable global leadership on MeerKAT large survey science projects, ii) large projects on other Square Kilometre

Array (SKA) pathfinder telescopes, iii) leading to leadership on the SKA phase 1 Key Science programmes, and iv) University leadership in the South African SKA regional science centre.

Through this partnership and focus area we secured several SARCHI chairs who work in the field of Astrophysics (Prof. Roy Maartens), Cosmology with Multi-wavelength data (Prof. Mario

Santos) and the UCT-UWC-SKA South African Chair in Radio Astronomy (Prof. Russ Taylor).

2. In 2018 we signed the agreement for the GAMKA project with the NRF, Ithemba Labs, WITS,

University of Zululand and Stellenbosch University. The GAMKA gamma ray spectrometer project aims to contribute to cutting edge research and the development of human capital in the field of nuclear research. This project was funded to the value of R30 000 000 by the NRF strategic equipment fund and the principal investigator for us was Prof. Nico Orce. This project has been successfully implemented.

3. We also secured a grant with the Andrew Mellon foundation: Turning the tide (20202024) with other South African institutions for the value of US $834,000. The project aims to strengthen the academic pipeline in the Humanities at the UWC, through support for

masters and doctoral scholarships, post-doctoral fellowships and the career advancement of promising academic staff at associate lecturer and lecturer levels. As the PI for the project I work closely with the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and our grants manager (Dr N Badsha) on this project.

University Rankings

A key initiative was to assess the position of the UWC as a research institution in the rankings for various disciplines. The strategy entailed evaluating what was happening on the ground and devising methods to support faculties to reach their potential in the rankings of disciplines. These strategies yielded results, especially in disciplines that were not ranked favourably before. Some of the key successes are reflected in the 2020 Times Higher Education Rankings as overall output for the university. The success of these rankings reflects the overall achievements of most of, if not all faculties at UWC. The figure indicates the introduction of disciplines such as psychology and education. The Law faculty has demonstrated its strengths and was recognised in the Research Recognition Awards as the leading faculty at the UWC for 2019/2020.

Rankings by subject

Psychology

Law

Life Sciences

Medical and Health Sciences 201 501

601

818

Education

Social Sciences and Public Health

Physical Sciences

Space Science/Astronomy 156 154 251

354

401

485 501

Clinical Medicine

Arts and Humanities

300 400 540

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 ■ Best Global Universities ■ University Rankings by Academic Performance ■ Times Higher Education

Figure 2: Rankings by subject

Building the next generation of researchers

The DHET annually releases a report on all universities on their research active academics. In 2015, a report by Mouton (2015) reported that 5 academics carried the research output at the UWC and identified the risk for sustainability. In 2018 a more favourable picture was reported. The report indicated that 10% of the research output was produced by 12 individuals and the next 10% by a further 22 individuals. The analysis also shows that slightly more than 200 academics produced half of all the publications in the review period. Thus, the initial scenario reported in 2015 has changed dramatically and the research productivity has increased and is being produced from a larger base.

As we align to the NDP to build the next generation of researchers we have to build the pipeline from postgraduate students to leading researchers. In addition, we secured additional funding

through state-funded instruments such as the UCDG, HDI and USDP, as well as non-state funded instruments such as, Erasmus Mundus. The principle intention for this funding was to support successful completion of postgraduate degrees in minimum time, as well as, to develop well-rounded academics. The programmes aimed to guide and develop postgraduate students (Workstudy Programme), to develop staff to complete their PhDs (USDP, ADAPTT), to develop more research active academics (Developing the research scholar programme) and to guide established female researchers towards increased research activities and promotion (BAAP and Black female researchers programme).

Transforming the leading researcher’s agenda

SARCHI chairs at the UWC is an important component of driving research. The main goal of the Research Chairs initiative from the National Research Foundation is to strengthen and improve the research and innovation capacity of public universities for produce high-quality postgraduate students and research and innovation outputs. The number of SARCHi chairs were increased from 15 to 19 during the last 5 years.

In addition to appointing new research chairs, we succeeded to secure the renewals of 5 SARCHis during the past three years that attests to the calibre of the researcher, the conduciveness of the university environment and the quality of the output. The following SARCHi Chairs were renewed:

1. Mathematics Education – Prof. Cyril Julie (Improved from Tier 2 to Tier 1) – (Page 66).

2. Health Systems Government – Prof. Helene Schneider (Improved from Tier 2 to Tier 1) – (Page 68).

3. Astronomy and Astrophysics – Prof. Roy Maartens.

4. Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies – Prof. Ben Cousins retired and was replaced with Prof. Ruth

Hall in 2020.

5. Visual History and Theory – Prof. Patricia Hayes.

The second achievement was the transformation of the profile of the SARCHI cohort. In particular the profile of women researchers was raised. Women now comprise the majority of the SARCHi cohort from the initial 5 females versus 10 males to 10 females and 9 males. This is key to the transformation agenda at the UWC.

Rated researchers

Rated researchers contribute to the standing of the university as they are peer reviewed, both nationally and internationally. A strategic aim was to increase the number of rated researchers, retain the rating for those already rated and improve the rating within and between categories. The number of rated researchers have increased from 144 to 152. All rerating applications were successful and two improved in category C to B; one improved in category B to A and one in category Y to C, while one improved within category C2 to C1; one within category A2 to A1 and two within category C3 - C2.

In the Y-rated category we focused on identifying the young researchers and assisted them to become rated. In 2017 we had 15 young rated researchers and in 2018 and 2019 we added an additional 2 new Y-rated researchers (n=4). In 2020 we added a young P-rated researcher which is a researcher who demonstrates research excellence and is younger than 35 years. These additional Y-rated researchers were 2 female and 2 male academics and of these 3 were black and 1 white female. This is evidence of the transformation agenda that is being addressed.

TABLE 1: NRF RATING CATEGORIES CATEGORY DEFINITION A Researchers who are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs. B Researchers who enjoy considerable international recognition by their peers for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs.

C Established researchers with a sustained recent record of productivity in the field who are recognised by their peers as having: • produced a body of quality work, the core of which has coherence and attests to ongoing engagement with the field • demonstrated the ability to conceptualise problems and apply research methods to investigating them.

P

Y Young researchers (normally younger than 35 years of age**), who have held the doctorate or equivalent qualification for less than five years# at the time of application and who, on the basis of exceptional potential demonstrated in their published doctoral work and/or their research outputs in their early post-doctoral careers are considered likely to become future international leaders in their field.

Young researchers (40 years** or younger), who have held the doctorate or equivalent qualification for less than five years# at the time of application, and who are recognised as having the potential to establish themselves as researchers within a five-year period after evaluation, based on their performance and productivity of quality research outputs during their doctoral studies and/or early post-doctoral careers

Source: Quality Assurance Office

Postgraduate enrolment and support

UWC prioritized the growth of postgraduate enrolment. The strategic goal of changing the student composition to a ratio of 70:30 undergraduates to postgraduates reflects the movement towards research intensity. The responsible growth of the postgraduate component towards this target resides with the DVC Research and Innovation portfolio. A strong pipeline of postgraduate students can strengthen the capacity of the university as a research institution. This section is addressed according to enrolment and financial support. The University set an ambitious target of 30% of students enrolled to be at the postgraduate level. This target is operationalised in specified enrolment targets over a five-year period. The enrolment targets were set collectively by the Deans, the Quality Assurance Office and Institutional Planning. This makes for a more challenging growth trajectory with steeper targets. The targets for the period 2017-2020 are reflected in the table below and disaggregated by degree level.

TABLE 2: ENROLMENT TARGETS DEGREE 2017 2018 2019

2020 Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Doctorate 907 937 942 1037 987 1095 1050 1136 Masters 1900 1943 2018 2051 2160 2170 2320 2182 Honours and PGD 1915 1891 2095 1780 2305 1664 2450 1677

Source: Quality Assurance Office

Over the past 4 years we have been able to support postgraduate students with bursary funding

TABLE 3: BURSARY AND SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT YEAR TOTAL FUNDING (Internal and External) NUMBER OF STUDENTS SUPPORTED 2017 R37 269 400.08 550

2018 2019 2020 R38 956 368.00

R34 901 962.56

R48 625 215.02 538

400 748

B: EMERGING NICHES AND NICHE DEVELOPMENT

As mentioned before, the further identification and exploration of research areas that could be developed into strong niches was a strategic priority. The HDI development grant provided a unique opportunity for the systematic identification and establishment of a research niche area (s) at the UWC for which it may be renowned. Through the HDI grant as a collective, deputy deans of research presented the key research strengths and areas of their respective faculties and a collective theme was decided upon: Global citizenship. During the past decade higher education’s interest in internationalization has intensified, and the concept of civic education or engagement has broadened from a national focus to a more global one. This expanded the concept that civic responsibility extends beyond national borders. The collective decision to adopt global citizenship as a cross-cutting theme for faculties was based on the following considerations: 1. Exploring global citizenship themes helps all stakeholders put the spotlight on why internationalisation is central to a quality education and emphasizes that internationalization is a means, not an end.

2. The benefits of encouraging students and staff to consider their responsibilities to their communities and to the world strengthens institutional commitment to serving society, enriches the institution, affirms its relevance and contributions to society, and benefits communities and the lives of their members. It also highlights the importance of making research count. 3. Thirdly, the concept of global citizenship creates conceptual and practical connections and thus allows for interdisciplinary research and teaching and learning As part of the global citizenship theme the university aimed to develop academics, students and academic support staff to become ethical and effective change agents regardless of their setting, discipline, stage of study or position. Within the HDI grant a number of research focus areas were identified for exploration and their feasibility to become niche areas at an institutional level. These emerging niches were integrated into the broader global citizenship theme to provide a coherent overarching framework that would contribute to the creation of a community of practice in the pursuit of developing these emerging niches. The figure below illustrates the conceptual relationship between the emerging niches and aspects of global citizenship.

Leadership & Governance

ENABLE & ADVANCE

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & ENGAGEMENT

Early Childhood development Diversity in Psychological Practice Neuroscience

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

SUSTAINABILITY

Social Development & Entrepreneurship UNDERSTANDING & DISCOVERY

E-research, Big data, E-logistics, Data Analytics (Science, EMS, CHS, Dentistry)

Interdisciplinarity, partnerships and capacity development at various levels including pipeline development of postgraduates were guiding principles.

Some achievements include: • One of the emerging niche areas, Early Childhood Development, was consolidated into a strong research niche. In this focus area, we were able to consolidate a number of efforts that culminated in the following:

o Successful application for a NRF SARCHi chair in Development of Human Capabilities and

Social Cohesion. Professor Nicolette Roman was appointed in 2018. At the time Prof. Roman was and still is the champion for the Early Childhood Development niche area.

o Successful establishment of a Research Centre in the Faculty of Community and Health

Sciences in 2020. The centre incorporates the former Child and Family Studies unit that was housed under Social Work. The unit is currently under the Directorship of Prof. Shazly

Savahl, a leading researcher in the area. The unit also includes two lecturers, a NGAP and an administrator. Thus, resources were successfully pooled to establish a viable research centre.

The centre also houses the very successful postgraduate programmes in Child and Family studies.

o The staff in the centre were able to leverage external funding for project development, research and student support through a range of funding instruments.

• Across the emerging niche areas, we supported 9 PhD students and 14 Masters’ students. Since 2018, we graduated 2 Masters’ students and 1 PhD, while 3 Masters’ students and 2 PhD students submitted for examination. Several are in the final stages of writing up. A substantial pipeline has been developed across these areas that further builds the resource and research base.

• In addition, the following postgraduate programmes have emerged and are being developed:

o Postgraduate Diploma in Early Childhood Development

o Masters in Leadership and Community

o Masters in Health Informatics

• International partnerships and consortia have been established and grown. Funding proposals for additional funding have been submitted and this pattern will continue.

• International recognition: The UWC was invited to participate in the SDG conference in Norway in 2020 as global citizenship is a key focus area of Goal 17 of the SDGs. I was invited to participate in a symposium as a discussant on global citizenship and how a higher education institution with limited resources could address the SDGs successfully. The team working across the emerging niches also hosted a symposium that reported on the use of Global Citizenship as a framework to develop research hubs and niches. The symposium was well received and the model employed received positive feedback. As a direct result of our presence on this platform, the UWC was invited by UNESO Africa to participate in a research challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa as a theme lead. We explored the impact of COVID-19 on global citizenship education in Sub-Saharan Africa and the results were presented in an Asian Pacific Closed meeting as an exemplar of what can be done. In addition, the team submitted 3 publications and have been invited to contribute to a book chapter focusing on global citizenship education.

• Knowledge translation has been identified as a key aspect in sharing the important research that is being conducted, and thus in 2017 the Annual Research Week was introduced and 2020 saw the introduction of webinars on various research topics.

An important project was the realignment of policy documents and committee standing orders to accurately reflect the differentiation of the DVC Research and Innovation portfolio. The realignment project was expanded to include the updating of policy documents to reflect current practices and changes in legislation. Examples of updated policies include:

• Research policy

• Postgraduate policy

In the course of this realignment and updating process, we identified gaps which led to the drafting of new policies, strategies and protocols for the identified gaps. Some examples include the

• Draft Innovation Strategy

• Draft Postgraduate Recruitment Strategy

• Draft Postgraduate Implementation Protocol

• Draft Guideline for Postgraduate Financial Support.

C: TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL INNOVATIONS

When we reflected on the research strategy that was developed in 2016, it was evident that the innovation aspect was lacking in the strategy. In 2017 the Director of TTO started to develop an innovation strategy. Linked to this, was the need to identify the roles of innovation across the university as they were located in different lines such as academic, finance and research. In addition, we realised that as we promote innovation the importance of commercialisation would be highlighted, and thus, the need to look seriously at this at The UWC. Finally, innovation without social innovation at the UWC would not be in line with our ethos and therefore, this was also introduced.

C 1: Innovation Strategy The UWC Innovation Strategy for 2021-2025 will be guided by the UWC Institutional Operational Plan and UWC Research Strategy. The Innovation Strategy will build on the strengths and successes of the university, by positioning the UWC as an innovation- and entrepreneurship- focused institution, ensuring that our research, scholarship and teaching contribute to local needs, regional impact and global relevance. The strategy will thus aim to provide direction for solidifying opportunities for the UWC’s interdisciplinary research niche strengths, while building a vibrant innovation culture that sustains research excellence by helping to attract and support exceptionally talented students and staff whose insight and creativity is the engine of knowledge creation.

C 2: Commercialisation at the UWC

The UWC Innovations (Pty) Ltd (UWCI) was created as a commercialisation vehicle for UWC projects and UWC-owned Intellectual Property (IP). During 2020, at a strategic planning session with the board, a clear strategy was developed for the role of the UWCI and the contribution it would make. From this engagement a consolidated document has been developed that provides role clarifications which should ensure smooth running and governance of the UWCI going forward.

C 3: Social Innovation Social Innovation was informed by the definition put forward by the Department of Science and Innovation for social innovation as being context-specific and aiming to empower beneficiaries by increasing their socio-political capabilities and access to resources (DST, White Paper 2019: ix).

Based on this understanding, the UWC entered into a multi-year partnership with Samsung. Over the next ten years this partnership is geared towards addressing some of the SDGs and to make an impact as an institution. The project with Samsung intends to create a Research and Development Academy at the UWC that will form part of Samsung’s Equity Equivalents Investment Programme (EEIP) initiative. The central objective of the R and D Academy is to improve market-relevant ICT skills for black software developers in South Africa and to develop critical skills in software development as well as social innovation that focuses on national challenges. This partnership provides a rich transdisciplinary context for research on social innovation, digital social innovation and societal change. This partnership is linked to our emerging niche area of Social Development and Innovation. We strive towards a thought leadership role in terms of social change, social justice, equity and community engagement. This programme provides the impetus and resources to pursue and achieve measurable strides in social entrepreneurship that is supported by learning and teaching, research and innovation, and community engagement as the three pillars of the UWC.

D: BUILDING STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL VISIBILITY

International research partnerships are a key component to creating national and international visibility for the UWC. This is reflected in all the programmes that have been designed and supported through the research and innovation offices. In this report we present the case of 4 projects that promoted and ensured national and international visibility of staff and students at the UWC.

D 1: Trilateral Grant Funding The Tri-Continental (3C) Partnership is a trilateral agreement between the University of Missouri, the University of the Western Cape, and Ghent University. The aim of this funding is to promote our partnership during the time of COVID-19 and travel restrictions.The three institutions combined and provided funds to support virtual research and teaching collaborations between faculty members at the three institutions. This initiative originated and was supported by the office of the DVC: Research and Innovation in collaboration with the Director of International Relations and it resulted in 8 collaborative projects being funded.

D 2: USDP and ADAPTT Grant The university staff doctoral programme grant (USDP) and Academic Doctoral Advancements Programme Towards Transformation (ADAPTT) were two grants which we secured to assist staff to obtain their PhD’s. As part of this programme, we partnered with the University of Missouri and Rutgers University and obtained mentors to support the participants on the programme. The participants were also supported to spend 7-10 days in the US with their mentor who assisted and guided them. These programmes end in 2022 and we shall soon be seeing the fruits of our labour as several will submit their theses for examination in 2021.

In addition, we submitted a successful grant application in collaboration with the CHS faculty in response to the USDP 2 call for a SA-UK collaboration. This grant makes provision for 10 staff members from participating institutions to enrol for a joint-doctorate at Loughborough University. Two staff members from the UWC were selected to participate in this programme in the area of Sport and Wellness. These grants respectively supported staff from the UWC, UP, TUT, Fort Hare, CPUT, Stellenbosch, Limpopo and Rhodes University.

D 3: YEBO project We participated in an Erasmus funded capacity building project aimed at the internationalisation of PhD programmes at universities. This consortium of universities consisted of 7 European universities and 7 South African universities. Through this project we offered our students access to international universities, as well as access to international funding for PhD projects and the sharing

of information on international and national platforms. In addition, we exposed PhD students and supervisors to training workshops offered by international and national specialists on topics such as Reinforcing Intercultural Competencies, Towards Structures/Services to support PhD Lifecycle, Developing a Toolbox for Managing International Collaborative PhD programmes and Strengthening Research Visibility & Capacity of PhD candidates, to name but a few. Through this consortium, the UWC has been firmly positioned as a thought leader on postgraduate education and innovation in the internationalisation of the doctoral degree.

As we engage in the next IOP for 2021-2025 it is imperative that as an institution, we continue to:

1. Strengthen and consolidate the pool of productive researchers and this will be given priority in the 2021-2023 USDP funding proposal approved by DHET.

2. Interdisciplinary research through partnerships has proven to be successful and should be encouraged and expanded upon in 2021-2025 with a focus on looking at what the national and international priorities are and how the UWC might capitalise on this. A current project is the focus of a NIH digital hub in collaboration with the University of Missouri. We have identified the key strengths of both institutions and thus such a hub will enhance our focus on collaborative data intensive research.

3. Creating a research conducive environment through improving the collaboration of crosscutting departments that drive the research agenda at the UWC. We have been able to secure funding to support the creation of UWC research chairs that can assist faculties in driving research in their niche areas.

4. Development of a postgraduate academy to foster and develop postgraduate education.

The aim of the postgraduate academy will be to develop a central location for sharing good ideas and best practices that contribute to postgraduate student success. The goal will be to support faculties across the spectrum of postgraduate education from recruitment to preparing the next generation of professionals.

5. Development of a research and innovation strategy for the 2021-2025 period that focuses on enhancing the research culture at the UWC across all levels.

DVC: Research and Innovation –Prof. José Frantz