Research

UP’s research strategy focuses on research that is relevant and addresses major challenges globally and, in particular, in Africa as a developing region. It is in anticipating future challenges, and in the digital race, that UP has taken the lead.

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34 Notable achievements

UP in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)

Research depth Research funding

to pursue “research that matters”: research that addresses complex societal challenges and, in particular, the challenges that are faced by developing regions in the world. Such issues include the environment, climate change, food security, poverty alleviation, health, education, and evidence-based policies for development.

UP is well known for its research. Its vision of becoming a leading research-intensive institution known for cuttingedge research, excellence and innovation found traction in 2019. Some of the breakthroughs that have placed UP, South Africa and Africa on the world stage are presented below. This is only a small selection that is indicative of the breadth, depth and excellence of UP research.

Performing a middle ear transplant using 3D printed bones Prof Mashudu Tshifularo, Head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology in the Faculty of Health Sciences, developed a pioneering surgical procedure to help remedy conductive hearing loss. The procedure involves using 3D technology to print the bones of the middle ear. Prof Tshifularo received the Hamilton Naki Award at the 2019 NRF Awards and won the Global Excellence Award at the South African Clinician Scientists Society’s Health Excellence awards for his pioneering 3D ear transplant.

Imaging of the black hole On 10 April a world announcement was made in Brussels, Belgium, with satellite linkages to major centres across the world (UP included), on the first results from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Central to this discovery is Prof Roger Deane, an associate professor in the Department of Physics, and his research team. With the combined power of a worldwide network of radio telescopes, astronomers have peered into the heart of our galaxy and, for the first time, imaged the very edges of the black hole. The EHT team won the 2019 Breakthrough Prize for fundamental physics and was awarded $3m by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.

Identifying Africa as the birthplace of modern Homo sapiens On 28 October a major research breakthrough was announced involving two UP researchers, Professors Vanessa Hayes and Riana Bornman. They were part of a team of international scientists who, through the use of DNA, found that the earliest ancestors of anatomically modern humans emerged in a southern African “homeland” and thrived there for 70 000 years, before some migrated due to climate shifts.

Developing a plant-based vaccine UP and the CSIR developed a vaccine against avian influenza using tobacco plants, bypassing the many biosafety risks involved with using traditional live virus vaccines. In this world-first study, a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine against bird flu in chickens was successfully produced and tested. What is remarkable is that one kilogramme of plant leaf material can produce enough vaccine to vaccinate 30 000 chickens and no live virus is involved in any stage of the production process.

The project was conceptualised by Prof Celia Abolnik, holder of the South African Research Chair Initiative in Poultry Health and Production in the Department of Production Animal Studies in the Faculty of Veterinary Science, and the CSIR’s Dr Maretha O’Kennedy, an extraordinary lecturer in the same department. They cosupervised PhD candidate Tanja Smith in the laboratory and clinical study.

Saving an elephant in Poland Two UP staff members from the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Professors Gerhard Steenkamp and Adrian Tordiffe, saved Ninio, an elephant in the Poznan Zoo in Poland, by extracting his damaged tusk, which became severely infected in July after a crack appeared at the base of his right tusk. This procedure took five hours. His left tusk was removed a few years ago by the same vets.

Prof Roger Deane relates how his team helped image the black hole. Prof Celia Abolnik (right) was part of the team to develop a plant-based vaccine.

Prof Mashudu Tshifularo explains his revolutionary middle ear transplant

The world is going through rapid changes, with the 4IR having a huge impact on how universities conduct themselves. It is within this context that UP is forging ahead with its emphasis on transdisciplinary platforms. UP has taken the lead in the 4IR space and established the Institute of Big Data and Data Science (IBDDS), which represents a multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary research cluster in the domains of big data and data science that include artificial intelligence.

The Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology is facilitating IBDDS, and has already established four research chairs that are all externally funded: • SARChI/DST Chair in Artificial Intelligence • ABSA Chair in Data Science • Multichoice Chair in Machine Learning • DRS Chair in Cybersecurity.

Research projects and activities within the 4IR arena that UP researchers are working on, and which will give UP the comparative and competitive edge both locally and globally, are:

Dental surgery on an elephant in Poland.

Nǂamce Sao, ǀkun Nǂamce, Professor Vanessa Hayes and ǀkun ǀkunta: Identifying Africa as the birthplace of modern Homo sapiens.

Astrophysics and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Digital forensics and cybersecurity Health and biological sciences ranging from bioinformatics and genomic research to disease control and lifestyle research through the UP SEMLI Institute Financial and economic sciences, with a focus on the insurance, banking and finance sectors

Learning analytics, with the primary objective of understanding and optimising student learning and success Engineering sciences, with a strong focus on supply chain management and future smart transportation.

UP, through the Gordon School of Business Science (GIBS), is supporting students and executive education clients to adapt to both the Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions and their associated impact on business, management and the future of work in our South African and broader African context. In addition to deepening knowledge and skills associated directly with new technologies, GIBS has focused on the need to develop “soft skills”, including how leaders manage in the face of accelerated technological change.

The Library Services is also at the forefront of the UP 4IR focus with a rather interesting new “staff member”, Libby, our resident service library robot. She weighs just 19kg and stands 90cm tall, sporting more than 60 sensors. She will perform general mundane, repetitive tasks which has the advantage that it frees up other staff members to do more specialised and advanced work.

UP’s research capacity profile continued to strengthen in many areas. The growing proportion of staff with doctorates and those who have achieved an NRF rating, as well as the increase in the number of master’s and doctoral enrolments and graduates, have all contributed to UP’s research-intensive identity.

Academic staff with PhDs increased from 43% in 2012 to 67% in 2019. UP’s research productivity, measured as research output units for which subsidy is earned, has steadily increased over recent years, and stands at 2092.45 (2018: 2054.54). The report of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) on sectorlevel research performance shows that UP tied with the University of Kwazulu-Natal with the highest percentage (10.8%) of the total research output units of all South African universities for 2018, and had the highest weighted output per capita (3.70).1

UP now has 528 NRF-rated researchers (2018: 507). There was an increase in both master’s and doctoral enrolments, creating a healthy pipeline for our research capacity. Master’s students increased to 6 239 (6 116 in 2018), and doctoral students grew to 2 375 (2018: 2 307). Master’s graduations increased to 2 008 (2018: 1 993).

Based on Essential Science Indicator (ESI) statistics, a total of 176 UP-published papers were among the top papers world-wide over a 10-year period. This is up from 145 in 2018 and 100 in 2017. The number of UP scientists positioned in this top international category has grown to 56 compared to 53 in 2018 and 35 in 2017.

A strong indicator of the University’s research and innovation culture is the 50 research chairs that it hosts, which also demonstrates strong partnerships with industry and government. These chairs include 19 Department of Science and Innovation DSI-NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) chairs and 31 industry-funded research chairs ranging across various departments.

1 DHET, April 2020. Report on the Evaluation of the 2018 Universities’ Research

Output.

The Engineering 4.0 building hosts Africa’s first independent transport referencing and testing facility. The Road/Rail Infrastructure Monitoring System (RIMS) will greatly improve South Africa’s capacity to maintain its road and rail network.

Prof Mavis Mulaudzi

New industry chair The Murray & Roberts Research Chair in Industry Leadership 4.0 will provide specialised skills that are essential to the 4IR through defined leadership strategies, particularly as they pertain to the mining and mineralsrelated industries. Murray & Roberts has committed its support of this new Chair for the next three years, which is housed in the Department of Mining Engineering.

New SARChI Chair Prof Mavis Mulaudzi was awarded the SARChI Chair in Ubuntu Community Model of Nursing. Prof Mulaudzi is an expert in indigenous knowledge systems and their role in nursing practice. As a new approach, this SARChI Chair proposes including the African philosophy of ubuntu as the foundation of caring ethics in the nursing profession.

Two significant developments in 2019 paved the way to build on UP’s research relevance and impact and strengthen its industry and government links.

Road/Rail Infrastructure Monitoring System Towards the end of 2019, the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology took ownership of a new research vehicle – the Road/Rail Infrastructure Monitoring System (RIMS). RIMS is a high-tech transport infrastructure monitoring and assessment device that will greatly improve South Africa’s capacity to maintain its rail and road network. It is capable of travelling along both road and rail infrastructure. This special and unique piece of research equipment is funded by UP and the NRF as part of its National Equipment Programme (NEP).

Engineering 4.0 complex The state-of-the-art Engineering 4.0 building, which is the result of a UP partnership with SANRAL and the CSIR, will host Africa’s first independent transport reference and testing facility. It will also be a research and training hub for smart transport systems and will share its vast resources in technology and data sciences with all faculties via Future Africa.

On 4 June 2019, Michigan State University Provost Prof June Pierce Youatt (right) signed the Memorandum of Understanding with UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Tawana Kupe for the Alliance for African Partnerships.

The structure is built in three parts: • SANRAL’s National Roads Materials Reference

Laboratory is the site for independent reference testing of materials for the road construction industry, the first in Africa. • A laboratory to train and certify laboratory technicians and engineering students. • An Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) facility and active traffic track for real-traffic testing. This unique facility allows one to characterise pavement design and construction while using data obtained from the active traffic lane to model many aspects in transportation systems.

UP is a respected member of the international research community, collaborating with over 3 000 institutions worldwide (excluding South African institutions). Europe and North America remain the most active areas for collaboration, both in terms of the number of institutions collaborated with and the research output of those partnerships.

In 2019, the University developed a focused internationalisation strategy for UP, identifying partnerships and networks that will accelerate achievement of the UP 2025 strategic goals. The ViceChancellor and Principal undertook visits to potential partner universities around the world, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, University of Zurich, University of Oslo, Michigan State University, and Ikiam Amazon Regional University, among others. Focus on Africa The University is committed to forging collaborations with other African institutions and plays a leading role in the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and many other Africa-focused initiatives. These include: • Southern African-Nordic Centre, a forum consisting of 48 universities from southern Africa and the Nordic regions to foster cooperation between academic institutions • South Africa-Sweden Universities Forum – UP coordinated the second SASUF conference in 2019 • The YEBO! Project, an international collaborative project of the Erasmus Plus Capacity building programme, coordinated by University of Montpellier,

France. Involving seven South African and five

European universities, the project focuses on internationalisation of PhD studies. In 2019, 27 UP staff members benefited from the project.

UP’s research partnerships in Africa consider the type of science needed to address key challenges on the continent. UP is a partner in a number of research consortia in Africa and contribute actively to the region’s knowledge base. Some examples of UP’s activities in 2019 included: • Joining the Michigan State University-Alliance for

African Partnerships (MSU-AAP). As part of its programmes, the AAP African Futures Program is a competitive research leadership programme targeting early career women researchers from AAP member institutions. These early career researchers will participate in the UP-Future Africa Research

Leadership Programme.

Department of Radiography To cater for the significant demand for diagnostic ultrasound in healthcare delivery, the Department has introduced Diagnostic Ultrasound under the existing BRadHons degree. This makes UP one of only three higher education institutions in the country offering diagnostic ultrasound qualifications.

Department of Statistics An additional plan – Statistics and Data Science – was introduced under the existing BScHons to keep pace with current trends and meet the needs of local and global industry.

Faculty of Law An additional master’s programme – Alternative Dispute Resolution – has been introduced to address a growing demand for legal practitioners, non-practitioners and lawyers to resolve complex problems through innovative techniques. This specialised programme will distinguish the University from most South African universities.

That’s one of the questions raised by a collaborative project, Urban Africa 2050, endorsed by 15 theological institutions in 13 African cities and involving 16 researchers. Each research participant has developed a research plan for their city, including recommending transformed theological curricula able to meet the challenges of Africa’s urban futures.

Developing, through Future Africa and the University of Tokyo, an Africa-Asia collaborative pillar that will include collaborative research projects and student and academic staff exchange.

Two collaborative projects in 2019 were: • The Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics’

African Soil Microbiology project, a collaboration between nine countries across sub-Saharan Africa. It is funded by USAID and the Oppenheimer Foundation.

Over 900 soil samples have been obtained from the nine partner nations, and 16S phylogenetic data has been obtained from most of these. A high-impact publication is anticipated for 2020. • The Centre for Human Rights in the Faculty of Law participated in the Human Rights Implementation

Project. This is a collaborative project between four leading academic human rights centres (Bristol, Essex,

Middlesex and Pretoria) and the Open Society Justice

Initiative, investigating factors that impact on human rights law implementation by nine states across

Europe, Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Zambia) and the Americas.

Success in securing external research grants and contracts is necessary to boost research funding, and to some degree validates the recognition UP receives as a research-intensive university that undertakes research that has high impact and is relevant to the contexts in which we live.

UP has many projects funded by the NRF, the Department of Science and Innovation, the CSIR, and many other public and private institutions. In 2019, the Department of Research and Innovation added another dimension to funding by considering crowd-funding as a way to generate income to supplement research costs amid declining national budgets in support of research grants. This initiative was supported with funding from the International Research and Exchanges Board. Following the launch of this initiative, two projects were identified for funding using such a crowd-funding platform which will be launched in 2020.

The European Union (EU) remains an important source of funding for global research. UP has been an active participant in the EU’s flagship research funding programme, Horizon 2020, which focuses on establishing international consortia of researchers cooperating globally in various fields to solve complex international problems. UP researchers were members of 12 such consortia in 2019.

External funding increased to R717.8m compared to R658.2m in 2018. This excludes the R237m income generated by Enterprises UP.

Internal funding allocations to research and postgraduate education represented 3.2% of UP’s total budget. In 2019, increased allocations went to postgraduate bursaries R44.2m (2018: R40.2m) and research equipment and maintenance R47.8m (2018: R45.5m).

90 Y-rated

3 P-rated

P-rated researchers are young researchers, under the age of 35 years, who are considered likely to become future international leaders in their respective fields. 528 99 B-rated

322 C-rated 14 A-rated

Top papers

Top scientists

100 2017 145 2018 176 2019 35 2017 53 2018 56 2019

Innovation at work 15 14 6 New invention SA Patents SA patents disclosures filed granted

Depth and reach 50 Number of Research Chairs 2092.45 Number of research outputs, the highest of all SA universities 3 000+ Institutions collaborated with

• To perform a middle ear transplant using 3D printed bones • To help image the black hole • To help identify Africa as the birthplace of modern Homo sapiens • To develop a plant-based vaccine.

• To house an independent reference and testing facility for the road construction industry • To “employ” a library service robot.