The National Research Foundation (NRF) on Monday highlighted the fifteenth anniversary of the South Africa-European Organisation for Nuclear Research (SA-CERN) Programme. This mark had been celebrated last week with a two-day series of high-level meetings and discussions held at the NRF-iThemba Laboratories for Accelerator-Based Science facility in Cape Town, on January 20 and January 21. (The NRF is South Africa’s scientific research funding, human development, and research facility provision and maintenance agency.)

“South Africa’s association with CERN is informed by, among others, the country’s strategic objective of gaining access to critical and world-class global research infrastructure,” highlighted Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina in her keynote address. “We recognise global research infrastructure as critical for the advancement of various strategic scientific areas such as research and the development of innovation policies, boosting scientific knowledge generation, and the acceleration of technology development.”

The SA-CERN Programme had led to significant advances in South Africa’s capabilities in physics, and, indeed, in associated technologies and wider innovation. It had given South African physicists access to cutting-edge global research infrastructure and allowed their participation in international collaborations which had made major scientific breakthroughs, for example the discovery of the Higgs boson in July 2012.

Participants from both CERN and South African institutions urged South Africa to continue to invest in scientific research and development. The SA-CERN Programme now embraced ten South African institutions in the country, but this should be expanded to increase the diversity within the discipline of physics. Further, the successes achieved by the programme should be used to inspire the next generation of scientists.

“Along with continued investment in research and development, there should also be a strong focus on the establishment and maintenance of a pipeline through science awareness initiatives,” affirmed NRF deputy CEO Dr Angus Paterson.

The event also showcased the contributions made by South African scientists. In particular, there was a focus on emerging scientists and how the programme had transformed their careers by enabling them to work in international collaborations. They were also able to share their insights and findings.