RESEARCH AT WITS

Over the last five years, our research output has increased by 10% with 96% of research published in international, high impact academic journals.

Wits has a proud history of research excellence dating back to its origins as a School of Mining in 1922. Over the years, research activities have evolved to include the fields of humanities, social sciences and health sciences.

More recently, we have encouraged a blended, interdisciplinary approach to research at Wits. This puts us in the right place to grapple with the complexities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while producing world-class research that transforms and impacts society in multiple beneficial ways.

Research highlights

Research productivity exceeded the 2 000 units barrier for the first time against a target of 1 952 units, completing 10 years of year-on-year growth

30 South African Research Initiative Chairs, including 2 new Chairs

Below are some examples of the type of high quality, relevant research conducted at Wits in fields like Covid-19, HIV, genetics, quantum computing, energy, migration, diversity and inequality:

- A milestone in the prevention of HIV among women in sub Saharan Africa, the newly discovered (CAB LA) injection to prevent HIV is more effective than the current HIV pill.

- The Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP) research unit discovered that the repurposing of drugs is a cost-efficient approach that eliminates the lengthy time frames of conventional drug development, thus giving patients treatment sooner.

- The Optical Society of America named Wits’ research involving fractal light from lasers as the most influential in optics and photonics.

- Climate scientists are developing the first Earth System Model based in Africa which will contribute to the fight against the climate emergency.

- In a major African Genome study, Wits geneticists have discovered more than three million new genetic and susceptibility variants which informs African population history, environmental adaptation and susceptibility to disease.

- PeCo Power – a home-grown electrical off-grid solution that will radically change lives and impact local communities.

- A low-cost, long-range, free-space optics that can connect informal settlement communities to highspeed internet.

- Wits Professors developed technology using molecular diagnostics that ensures the efficacy of the equipments that tests for tuberculosis which improves diagnosis and treatment of TB around the world.

6 DSI-NRF Centres of Excellence are hosted, or co-hosted at Wits