South Africa’s state-owned telecommunications company Telkom and the country’s National Research Foundation have launched a R18 million (US$1m), three
South Africa’s state-owned telecommunications company Telkom and the country’s National Research Foundation have launched a R18 million (US$1m), three-year research programme to foster innovation in the information and communication technology sector.
South Africa’s state-owned telecommunications company, Telkom, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) have launched US $1 million initiative aimed at driving innovation within South Africa’s information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
Dubbed Future Technologies (FutureTech) programme, the pilot programme is a three-year, programme with annual contributions of R3 million each from Telkom and NRF. It seeks to boost ICT research capabilities by providing grants and scholarships for postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
Advancing research
The funding focuses on advancing research in critical areas such as network and fibre-optic solutions, multimodal sensing, the Internet of Things, virtualisation, artificial intelligence, and language and speech technologies. The NRF announced that the FutureTech programme will prioritize supporting South African institutions historically disadvantaged by apartheid, fostering inclusivity and diversity through collaborations and targeted funding.
FutureTech builds on Telkom’s Centres of Excellence initiative, which has supported ICT research and training for over 25 years. Students supported by FutureTech will have access to internships with Telkom and Openserve, alongside funding for essential research equipment and full-cost scholarships. A review will follow the pilot phase to assess how FutureTech might integrate with the Centres of Excellence programme for a more cohesive impact.
Althon Beukes, CEO of Telkom’s Openserve, highlighted the initiative’s role in strengthening the future of South Africa’s ICT workforce. Similarly, NRF CEO Fulufhelo Nelwamondo expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, emphasizing its alignment with NRF’s mission to build transformative science and technology capacity in the country.