Chairpersons of the South Africa-Japan Universities forum, Professor Cheryl de la Rey, and Professor Akira Ninomiya Ambassador of Japan to South Africa, Mr Akihiku Furuya Vice Chancellors and Presidents of higher education institutions of both South Africa and Japan Colleagues.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak briefly to you at this important gathering of higher education leadership.
I am sure the South African participants have given you an indication of the challenges facing higher education. So I will not go over that ground this morning.
Japan has remained South Africa's most important commercial partner in Asia. Japan has consistently ranked as either South Africa's third or fourth most important trade partner internationally. Relations between the two countries have been strengthened through a variety of educational, cultural and industrial exchange programmes. During the past decade, foreign direct investment (FDI) has seen tremendous growth, predominantly in the metals, minerals and automotive sectors.
Since 1994, the South African government has tried to focus investment in research and development. The National Research and Development Strategy in 2002 identified a number of priority areas such as nanotechnology and strategies were developed.
With its focus on human capital development, SAJU has a critical role to play in bolstering these initiatives. SAJU provides us with a unique opportunity to share experiences on a whole range of issues. The forum will help our institutions to develop capacity in areas where we experience skills shortages such as science, engineering and technology.
I hope that through the SAJU forum, South Africa will be able to tap into the strengths of Japan and make positive developments in terms of exploring alternative energy use. The forum also provides us with the opportunity to share our expertise in various disciplines. As with many developing countries, South Africa faces the challenge of expanding critical skills and grappling with the competition for skills that is faced by all the poor and many rich nations. In this regard, our response has been to realise that we need to produce a deep pool of skills to counter the challenge of the skills flight.
We see in SAJU an opportunity not only to develop skills within South Africa, but also to expand our pool of skills by attracting individuals with specialised skills into the country to collaborate in our universities.
In South Africa, the Departments of Science and Technology, and Education have made human resource development particularly in science and technology a high priority. In this regard, our objectives and challenges include the following:
* To increase enrolment and graduation rates in mathematics and science at schools and universities.
* To increase the employment of permanent researchers at higher education institutions to overcome the challenges of losing academics especially those with doctoral degrees.
* To increase the enrolment of masters and doctoral students, and that of international students.
A number of programmes have been put in place to support the achievement of these objectives. These include the South African Research Chairs Initiative; the Innovation Post-Doctoral fellowship Programme; and the Professional Research Development Programme.
SAJU may well serve as a vehicle to assist with the development of concrete strategies to realize these objectives. I am optimistic that SAJU will become a success precisely because of the strong foundation of collaboration that already exists between our two countries.
Moreover, both South Africa and Japan regard science and technology as fundamental to socio-economic development. Japan has developed its capabilities successfully. Our universities hope to work with you to strengthen our efforts. There is a strong need for our higher education systems to expand and enhance our research capability I hope our universities will draw on your experience and advise government on policies and mechanisms that successfully advance such aspirations. SAJU could also provide our institutions with a unique opportunity to access enhanced technology and innovation equipment.
Here is a strong platform for bilateral partnerships between institutions that will strengthen their research and skills development capacity. The forum should serve the dual purposes of addressing high level, macro strategic areas through partnerships between Japanese and South African higher education institutions, and promote co-operation between South Africa and Japanese institutions on areas of mutual interest.
As a developed country, Japan could also provide opportunities for South African and African young researchers to come into contact with private enterprises which, in partnership with institutions, could provide training in innovation and the promotion of development.
South African universities and government have been slow to promote spin-off companies, technology transfer contracts and patents. I think if you were to compare our leading universities one on one with yours in Japan, you would find us far behind Japan in these three indicators. We are proud of our A-rated scholars, but we have been slow to promote and commercialise the intellectual property they produce.
The forum could also provide a useful platform for postgraduate exchange programmes, joint research between South African and Japanese scholars, internships and placements for advanced training and development. It is my hope that our institutions will take advantage of the opportunity presented by SAJU, and forge strong, viable, mutually beneficial partnerships with their Japanese counterparts.
In conclusion, I would like to thank our colleagues from Japan, Professor Ninomiya, and the rest of the delegation for dedicating their time, working closely with the South Africa Embassy to Japan, to make sure that this meeting and the partnership as a whole become a success.
I wish you a safe trip back home, and I trust that you will carry wonderful memories about South Africa back home with you.
I would also like to congratulate the South African organising team, led by Higher Education South Africa (HESA), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Department of Education (DoE), for the wonderful work that they have done in organising this meeting.
I am sure we are all aware that the end of this meeting does not mean it is all well and done. Rather, it means that we all have to go back and work hard to ensure that the decisions and commitments we have made here, are implemented.
Thank you.
