SECTION 3 Impact in Research
SECTION 3 Impact in Research
RESEARCH IMPACT IN
O
ur research spans fundamental research at discipline levels, through to transdisciplinary research that addresses the complex challenges facing society. In our quest to be a leading research-intensive university, we are continually working to increase research that is relevant to societal needs, and that drives societal development and change. To amplify our impact, we pursue collaborations with over 3 000 institutions across the globe and have some 230 international institution-wide partnerships across 70 countries and six continents.
Top tier indicators Following a new high level of academic output in 2021, the University of Pretoria’s output remained stable in 2022, with a total of 2 343.66 units. Significant were conference proceedings returning to pre-pandemic levels and a marked increase in the production of longer-term outputs in the shape of books and chapters in books (356.56 units). Although weighted research outputs per academic staff showed a slight decrease, the figure for 2022 (2.24 outputs per academic staff member) compares favourably with our South African peers. The weighted per capita research output value for all public universities in 2019 was 2.01 (DHET, 2021). The proportion of black postgraduate students continued to climb, with people of colour now making up threequarters of our postgraduate enrolments. The University’s continued commitment to international cooperation in research is reflected in the return of international postdoctoral fellows to 2018 levels. Aligned to this is a steady, year-on-year increase in total postdoctoral fellow numbers and numbers of international academic staff.
UP’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) was once again ranked top in South Africa of the UK Financial Times rankings for their Executive MBA programme. The only African business school in the paper’s annual Executive MBA Ranking, GIBS has moved to 74th position for the modular and part-time executive MBA, a climb of 13 places.
Research chairs, global rankings Institutions of higher education are globally ranked on the basis of various quantifiable factors. Research performance is measured by publications and citations. International diversity and other indicators such as academic reputation and graduate employability also contribute to the various ranking systems. UP has remained stable in its rankings over the past five years, with a decrease experienced in 2022 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. The Times Higher Education (THE) Subject Rankings for 2022 ranked UP in eleven subject fields: Arts and Humanities • Business and Economics Clinical, Preclinical and Health • Computer Science Education • Engineering • Law • Life Sciences Physical Sciences • Psychology • Social Sciences. The performance of most subjects remained stable over this period with noticeable success from Law, returning to the top 100, and its highest ranking (at #60). UP was also ranked first in South Africa for Law.
ESI Indicator fields
New and Renewed Research Chairs
The University is rated among the top 1% globally in 14 of the 22 Essential Science Indicator (ESI) fields (up from 12 in 2021). UP was the only university in South Africa to feature in Economics and Business. Academics produced most documents within Economics & Business, Engineering, Microbiology and Plant & Animal Science within South Africa. Molecular Biology and Genetics in particular, enjoyed a phenomenal year, averaging north of 45 citations per paper.
The University of Pretoria had a total of 51 active chairs in 2022. These include 19 industry-funded research chairs and 31 Department of Science and Innovation DSI-NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) chairs.
UP has three researchers ranked in the top 1% by ESI worldwide. They are: • Professor Rangan Gupta in Economics and Business • Professor Mike Wingfield in Plant and Animal Sciences • Professor Yves Van der Peer in Cross-field (Ghent University Belgium with secondary affiliation University of Pretoria) Researchers are selected for their exceptional influence and performance in one or more of 21 research fields or across several fields. The methodology used, assesses the number of highly cited papers and the number of citations for 2012 - 2022 by threshold per subject. It is possible to use ESI statistics to identify the top 1% of scientists and published articles internationally, based on citations. As of January 2023, a total of 265 UP-published papers were among these top papers world-wide, spread over 20 of the 22 ESI subject fields. UP continues to dominate the subject category of Plant & Animal Sciences with 78 top papers.
Four academics were awarded co-funded Chairs under the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI): Artificial intelligence specialist, Professor Nelishia Pillay of the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, was awarded the Chair in Machine Learning for Sustainable Development. Professor Zodwa Dlamini, inaugural Scientific Director of UP’s Pan African Cancer Research Institute (PACRI) in the Faculty of Health Sciences, holds the Chair in Precision Oncology and Cancer Prevention. Professor Thulani Makhalanyane of the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, was awarded the Chair in Marine Microbiomics. Professor Chris Changwe Nshimbi, Acting Director of UP’s Institute for Strategic and Political Affairs and Associate Professor in the Department of Political Sciences in the Faculty of Humanities, was awarded a research Chair in the Political Economy of Migration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
Postdoctoral fellows are a strong indicator of future research excellence, with this often being the first step on the academic career ladder.
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UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA | ANNUAL REVIEW 2022
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