The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr Blade Nzimande, will open the 5th Science Forum South Africa (SFSA) at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria from the 4th to 6th December 2019.
This year’s Science Forum will be joined together with our flagship technology matchmaking and showcasing event, the Innovation Bridge (IB).
The joint SFSA and IB event will take place under the theme, “Igniting conversations about science for innovation with impact”.
Merging the two events will see a wider variety of stakeholders within the science, technology and innovation landscape converging under one roof, thus enriching the discourse on the role of science in improving the lives of Africa’s vast populations, said Minister Nzimande.
The Minister said that building on the success of the previous events, SFSA 2019 will again serve as a large, open, public platform for debating the science and society interface. A range of topics will be up for discussion, including how Africa can harness the new technological revolution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2019 event has a strong focus on the commercialisation of research to benefit the broader society with local technologies generated from publicly financed research and development showcased to secure partners to convert these technologies into products and services that impact the lives of ordinary people,” the Minister said.
Over 3 000 researchers, scientists, policy makers and students from all over the world are expected to attend this year’s event, with close to 50 exhibitors set to showcase a variety of scientific innovations.
The five-day programme will kick off with side-events on the 2nd and 3rd December, followed on 4th December by a high-level plenary and parallel sessions. On 5th December, the focus will be on the IB matchmaking event, with innovators and funders scheduled to have one-on-one engagements. The last day, the 6th December, will include discussions focusing on both SFSA and the Innovation Bridge.
The SFSA and Innovation Bridge programme and a list of the exhibitors, as well as a registration page, can be found on the website.
Source: Department: Science and Technology