Japanese and South African universities are expected to formulate joint projects in science and technology at a high-level meeting in Cape Town later this month.
The meeting is a follow-up to a visit by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to Japan two years ago, where she requested support for the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition activities, and a subsequent visit last year by a delegation of deputy vice-chancellors led by Professor Cheryl de la Rey, the then deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town.
From these meetings a South Africa-Japan Universities’ Forum was set up to identify priority collaborative areas that would be of benefit to both countries. According to De la Rey, who chairs the forum’s planning committee: “We’re hoping to get a set of priority projects as well as joint funding. The departments of education and science and technology are participating and we want to make sure there is an action plan.”
She says that from a higher education perspective, Japan was able to build an excellent education system post 1944/45 when parts of the country were destroyed by the atomic bomb. “We use 1994 as a milestone. We don’t have time on our side. We need to accelerate achievements. They’re [Japan] small but remarkable. They were able to translate knowledge generation into direct economic and social benefits.”
Areas of possible collaboration include environmental and geographical sciences with a focus on climate change, marine and oceanographic research and Earth observation; energy research, particularly nuclear energy, hydrogen fuel cells, solar power and biofuels; health research focusing on immunology, cancer therapy and medicinal chemistry; materials science; nanotechnology; and mathematics and science education.
The forum will aim to increase flows of scientific knowledge and resources between South Africa and Japan through participation in joint education, research and training programmes; share best practice in scientific and engineering research and training through exchange of students, researchers and managers; and to facilitate and promote human capacity development in science, engineering and technology.
This could include postgraduate student exchanges in the form of research visits and study abroad semesters; postdoctoral fellowships tenable in each country; joint research projects with a principal investigator in each country; internships and placements for advanced training and teaching development.
Japan has 87 national universities and several private ones. The higher education system has about 3-million students, which includes more than 100 000 foreign students. The majority is enrolled in social sciences and humanities, with about four in 10 undergraduates enrolled in this area. There is a decline in the 18-year age group, the main pool for the universities — last year it was 1,3-million.
The Japanese government regulates private universities, which receive block and competitive grants but these are smaller than for national universities. About 10% of the budget for national universities and 60% of the budget for private universities are derived from fees. Universities with medical schools manage the academic hospitals where their students train and derive an income.
South Africa, meanwhile, had 737Â 000 students in 2005, with 52Â 000 international students, mostly from the Southern African Development Community. There are 15Â 000 academic and research staff and a total annual income of about R22-billion comprising government subsidies (43%), student fees (28%) and investments, gifts and contract research.