Rector & Vice-Chancellor Prof Robert Balfour speaking to Director-General Dr Mlungisi Cele. Image: Department of Science, Technology and Innovation

The University of the Western Cape (UWC) welcomed a 13-member delegation from the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), led by Director-General Dr Mlungisi Cele, on Thursday, 5 November 2026, for a strategic engagement on the future of research and innovation in South Africa. The visit sought to deepen cooperation to advance the priorities of the national Decadal Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation, identify opportunities for UWC to contribute to policy development and implementation, and strengthen research talent, infrastructure and institutional capacity.

UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Robert Balfour, and members of the University executive and senior management welcomed Dr Cele and the delegation. The visit was organised and coordinated by the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, led by Prof Sarojini Nadar, working closely with Dr Ana Casanueva, Director of the Technology Transfer Office, whose expanded role encompasses research partnerships and innovation.

Director-General Dr Mlungisi Cele. Image: Department of Science, Technology and Innovation

In presenting the Research and Innovation portfolio’s developing vision to strengthen UWC's position as a leading research university, Prof Nadar emphasised that research excellence involves the quality of scholarship and its significance for society. The University’s strategic direction focuses on developing the next generation of researchers, extending the influence of UWC’s scholarship beyond academic publications, and strengthening the research support systems and infrastructure that enable scholars to do their work effectively. This is particularly important for a historically disadvantaged institution, as its commitment to widening participation in knowledge production remains inseparable from its pursuit of international research excellence.

The programme brought together a deliberately selected cross-section of UWC’s established strengths and emerging initiatives. Presentations offered insights into work in health and the natural sciences, energy and technological innovation, major collaborative research initiatives and the humanities. The selection was not intended as a ranking of projects or a complete account of UWC’s research landscape. Rather, it illustrated how scholarship across the University contributes to scientific discovery, policy and public understanding, while addressing pressing social challenges. The inclusion of the humanities was particularly important in demonstrating the relationship between technological advancement and the human dimensions of innovation. In an increasingly AI-driven world, where the boundaries between human and machine-generated knowledge are being reconfigured, the humanities have a critical role in examining the ethical implications of new technologies, the inequalities they may reproduce, and the social purposes they are intended to serve. For UWC, scientific and technological innovation cannot be separated from questions about what it means to be human, whose knowledge is valued, and who ultimately benefits from technological progress.

The delegation visited the SAIAMC research facility. Image: Department of Science, Technology and Innovation

The latter perspective resonated strongly with Dr Cele’s own presentation, "Towards a Knowledge and Innovation-led Inclusive and Sustainable Socio-economic Development." He located South Africa’s science and innovation ambitions within the intersecting pressures of inequality, climate change, technological change and geopolitical uncertainty. His central concern was how to build a nationally responsive, globally competitive innovation system without allowing technological progress to deepen existing inequalities. Among the questions posed was a fundamental one: what knowledge do we produce, for whom and for what purpose?

Dr Cele also addressed the structural constraints facing South African research. Despite the international standing of much of the country’s scholarship, research investment remains limited, the pipeline of postgraduate and early-career researchers requires sustained support, and institutions face uneven access to infrastructure and research capacity. His presentation called for stronger links across the educational and research pathway, from schooling and postgraduate study to innovation and public benefit. These concerns intersect with UWC’s own priorities for researcher development and the long-term sustainability of its research environment.

Director-General Dr Mlungisi Cele at this graduation at the University of the Western Cape. Image: UWC

The discussion identified possible areas of further cooperation, including policy analysis and evaluation, artificial intelligence, the work of UWC’s South African Research Chairs Initiative chairs, research commercialisation, and innovation for inclusive development. These were areas for exploration rather than commitments to specific funding or projects. The programme concluded with a walkabout at UWC’s South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC) research facility, where the delegation engaged with an example of the University’s scientific infrastructure and applied research.

Overall, the engagement offered an opportunity to position UWC as a partner in shaping South Africa’s research and innovation future, rather than simply as a recipient of national research policy. That conversation carried particular significance with a Director-General whose doctoral research at UWC had examined the relationship between democratic aspirations and the institutional resources needed to realise them. As the University develops its new research and innovation strategy, the visit provides a basis for continued engagement on aligning national priorities with university capacity to advance a more equitable and sustainable knowledge system.

Director-General Dr Mlungisi Cele. Image: Department of Science, Technology and Innovation

From UWC Graduate to National Science and Innovation Leader

For Director-General Dr Mlungisi Cele, the visit to UWC was also a homecoming. A UWC alumnus, he obtained his PhD in Higher Education Studies from the Faculty of Education. His doctoral dissertation, titled Student Politics and the Funding of Higher Education in South Africa: The Case of the University of the Western Cape, 1995–2005, examined the relationship between student activism, higher education funding and the challenges of expanding access to universities in post-apartheid South Africa. His research explored the tension between widening access to higher education after apartheid and the limited funding available to students and institutions. Appointed DSTI Director-General on 1 June 2025, he previously led the National Advisory Council on Innovation and has contributed extensively to South African science and innovation policy, including the Decadal Plan. His scholarly interest in the relationship between public policy and institutional resources is clearly relevant to his current national responsibilities.