the gem editorial

The past two months have been exceptionally busy and rewarding, marking one of our most dynamic periods yet. This special 44-page edition of the gem covers the highlights of September and October 2025, months filled with inspiring collaborations, events, and significant achievements.

We had the privilege of hosting a senior delegation from Google DeepMind as part of a series of engagements at Stellenbosch and within the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA). We have been also fortunate that one of our PhD students, Haingo Andry, was selected among 2025 Google Global PhD fellows and will be paired with Google scientists to develop his research.

Another major highlight was the first Cape HealthTech event, held at CERI in the BMRI building, which brought together entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, investors, and healthcare leaders. With around 50 companies. The event showcased the rapid progress of the health tech and biotech ecosystem in the Western Cape. Building on this momentum, we are excited to relaunch the BRAIN Acceleration Program in partnership with OST, MIT, and the Mastercard Foundation. This one-year program will support ten of Africa’s leading start-ups in health, AI, and climate innovation, with applications open until 7 November for the 2026 intake.

Our commitment to capacity building also remains strong. This issue features the African STARS program at the Center for Africa’s Resilience to Epidemics (CARE) at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, the African STARS Fellowship is doing more than training scientists, it’s shaping a generation of scientists, innovators, and leaders. We also partnered with Inqaba Biotech for a rare diseases bioinformatics workshop and contributed to the African BioGenome Project’s Open Institute Southern Africa Regional Workshop.

Finally, we continued producing high-impact research, including new open-access protocols for sequencing respiratory viruses such as Influenza, RSV, and Rhinovirus. Ahead of COP30, we launch the Climate Change and Epidemics 2025 Synthesis Report, produced by 200 scientists from 40 countries. The report offers compelling evidence on how climate change drives epidemics like West Nile, Dengue, and Chikungunya, while proposing actionable steps for global preparedness.

All in all, an incredibly productive and inspiring couple of months of activites that we want to share with you.

text: Tulio de Oliveira