The French South African Institute in Electronics (F’Satie) is a post-graduate research institute that supports South African companies with technology transfer.
Based at Technikon Pretoria, it is a joint initiative between the technikon, the French government, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and the National Research Foundation (NRF). The institute is a national asset and has links with a number of local and international higher-education institutions.
Initiated in 1996 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce, F’Satie is the first technical centre of excellence in a non-French-speaking African country. France has contributed technological, scientific and human resources. Officially opened by French President Jacques Chirac in 1998, it supports the African renaissance and the internationalisation of Africa and serves as a technological resource nucleus for the continent.
Its main aims are to train high-level human resources and support industry with technology transfer through research development. Its industrial partners include Eskom, Telkom, Johnnic, Schneider and Alcatel. It also collaborates with the Northern Gauteng, North-West and Peninsula technikons.
The institute offers training by internationally-renowned experts, and awards international qualifications to its students.
The syllbus comprises a one-year practical programme focusing on technical skills; an 18-month bachelor’s degree course, with a focus on product development and entrepreneurship applicable to industry; and a unique master’s degree programme, through which students obtain a double master’s degree from Technikon Pretoria and Esiee Paris (a graduate school in electronics).
F’Satie is also involved with the Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (Thrip). Thrip money is used for applied research that not only helps industry to improve products but also ensures that students and staff at F’Satie do relevant and pertinent research. This year, with a R1,6-million investment in techno-logy development by local companies through the NRF, five companies will benefit directly from the development of new products. This will lead to new jobs and assist in the development of the small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME) sector in South Africa.
Students benefit from working on cutting-edge technology in well-equipped laboratories under the guidance of international experts and are exposed to entrepreneurship, which should encourage innovation in their chosen careers.
In the past few years F’Satie has worked on the development of magnetic bearings, laser-range finders, telecommunication equipment such as lasers, perimeter security systems, gun-shot detectors, PABX systems and radio and farm information systems.
The NRF has approved four of the institute’s projects for Thrip this year: medium-range range finder; hunter-tracker; high-power radio- frequency units; and wireless automotive hitch system.
F’Satie has developed the expertise to manage and complete highly complex projects in collaboration with industry. A technical ‘incubator” organisation at Pretoria Technikon, called Incentif, plays a key role as a link between academia and industry. One of the success stories is the optical link project, which resulted in the development of a successful product for the South African and international markets.
The concept of the optical link allows network communication effectively to convert data into a format acceptable to laser, and this has had a huge impact on current communication networks.
This technology creates very high bandwidths, is very fast and can be installed in a matter of hours to relieve congestion on other infor-mation highways, ensuring contin-uous availability of communication networks.
Users of this product include companies with computer and voice networks in multiple buildings such as banks, large retailers and mines. International customers include world leaders such as Accton in the East, one of the largest network equipment distributors in the world. Polish company DTS is also considering marketing this tech-nology in Eastern Europe.
Three years ago F’Satie initiated an ‘incubation” centre to encourage SMME development in South Africa through the support of students and entrepreneurs with potential projects and products.
The idea is to enable new businesses to start up on the Pretoria Technikon campus. F’Satie and the technikon stand to benefit from these entrepreneurs’ expertise as lecturers and researchers, as well as to provide a consultancy service to industry.
F’Satie currently hosts five SMMEs with expertise ranging from opto-electronics to Field Programmable Gate Array and Very Hard Description Language design. The first company to join the ‘incubation” centre, Analogue & Digital Systems (Andis), has been involved with three successful projects. The company developed PABX hardware and drivers to run on a standard PC; a farm information system whereby animal and human movement as well as the status of fences and gates can be monitored; and a system to evaluate applicants for motorcycle licences. This system has been supplied to vehicle-testing centres throughout the country.
The latest company to join the incubation centre, Inyoka Trailers (which specialises in electronic design), patented a device that enables people to manoeuvre trailers and caravans with ease.