2018/19 Research and Innovation Report

A culture of vibrant research, innovation and internationalisation is central to the growth and reputation of Nelson Mandela University. Senate has therefore approved a new strategy to advance our research and innovation culture by supporting researchers from honours all the way through to postdoctoral fellows and established researchers.

As we know, there is a direct correlation between the proportion of academic staff with PhDs and research outputs, and we are committed to increasing our numbers of academic staff with doctorates, doctoral graduates, and our cohort of postdoctoral fellows. It is pleasing that for 2018, with a weighted research output
(WRO) of 1.67, our university edged closer to the national average of 1.88 WRO. We are also pleased that our doctoral graduates for 2018 increased by 11% to 102, compared to 92 in 2017.

We are currently hosting 63 postdoctoral fellows, compared to 52 in 2017. They significantly contribute to the university in terms of publication outputs, postgraduate supervision and general research productivity. In 2018 our postdoctoral fellows published over 50 peer-reviewed papers. External funding for postdoctoral fellowships has, however, been declining, and this has become a
focus area for future resource mobilisation. Another focus is the decline in our honours and master’s graduates; a situation we are investigating, as these are crucial for growing our academic pipeline.