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UCT RESEARCH REPORT '11
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into with local industry has increased to R74 million from
R59 million in 2010. In this regard, the contributions of the
Sasol Group, Anglo Group, Eskom Group and Rustenburg
Platinum Mines are particularly significant
.
More than 60 percent of research contracts were signed
with international partners from 32 countries in 2011. Key
sources of foreign funding include the USA (R224 million),
United Kingdom (R101,5 million) and The Netherlands
(R30,87 million).
The USA’s National Institutes of Health was the most
prominent funder of contract research, and contracts to the
value of R92,4 million were, directly or indirectly – through
collaboration with USA universities – entered into in 2011.
Other major USA funders were the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, whose contribution was R55,7 million, and
the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation’s contribution of
R40,56 million.
The Department for International Development
(DFID) was the major United Kingdom contributor
and contracts to the value of R65,9 million were,
directly or indirectly – through collaboration with
UK universities – entered into during this period.
R31,2 million of European Commission funds were
accessed directly or through collaboration with various
UK and European universities. Contracts to the value
of R25 million were entered into with the European and
Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP),
an organisation that operates from The Netherlands.
Funding from Canada included the Grant Challenge
Canada (R7,4 million) and the International Development
Research Centre (R4,9 million).
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
AND FUNDING
Postgraduate students
Postgraduate students play an important role in the
research activities of the university. They are funded
through various sources, with the strongest support
coming from departmental scholarships at UCT and
the National Research Foundation. Further support
comes from UCT-sourced funds, income from UCT’s
investments, and donations to the university from
generous and valued sponsors.
In 2011, the Postgraduate Funding Office administered 6 843
applications from 6 016 postgraduate students registered for
honours, master’s and doctoral degrees at UCT. Of these,
4 074 awards, totaling R135,381,878, were offered to 2 269
students, and R9,000,000 in external awards was paid
directly into individual students’ fee accounts.
Sources of funding
UCT Departmental Scholarships
are derived from
grants fund-raised by academics in specific departments
or units, from external partners and/or sponsors.
The National Research Foundation
continues to be
a significant funder of postgraduate students at UCT,
either through block grants allocated to the university or
by applications made directly to the NRF. In 2011, 1 080
bursaries and scholarships were awarded to postgraduate
students, which were valued at R46,624,230.
The Medical Research Council
provides financial
support to master’s and doctoral students who are studying
in areas of the health sciences. In 2011, 11 bursaries and
scholarships were awarded to postgraduate students, with
a total value of R580,000.
The UCT Research Associateships
, sourced from
UCT funds, provide prestigious awards to reward the
research excellence of master’s and doctoral students,
while recognising the work of their supervisor(s). In 2011,
22 master’s and doctoral awards were made, to the value
of R900,000, to fund research in the following fields:
economics, actuarial science, electrical engineering,
neurosurgery, human biology, human genetics, medical
biochemistry, public health and family medicine, social
anthropology, philosophy, English languages and
literature, drama, commercial law, international and
criminal law, private law, chemistry, mathematics and
applied mathematics, physics, and astronomy.
The 2011 UCT Conference Travel Grants
enabled
17 master’s and 62
doctoral students to travel locally and
internationally to present papers at conferences. These
grants amounted to the value of R104,344 for local travel
expenses and R623,665 for international costs.
UCT Scholarships for International Travel
attract
significant numbers of applications from master’s and
doctoral students who wish to undertake research
SA
Government
Public
Entities and
Statutory
Bodies
SA Non-
profit
SA Science
Councils SA Industry
Foreign
Government
Foreign
Non-profit
Foreign
Industry
R92,264,869 R40,801,316 R56,806,953 R19,621,475 R73,978,095 R186,263,313 R188,595,455 R63,823,181
Table 1
Total value of research contracts in 2011