UJ congratulates newly appointed NRF Research Chairs

Date: Jan 10, 2019 | College of Business and Economics, Faculties, Media Release, News

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) continues to make big strides in its fast growing research and innovation output, with the National Research Foundation (NRF) awarding new research chairs to the University in the latest round of awards in the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) programme.

UJ would like to extend its congratulations to the following staff members for securing the awards:

Prof Salim Vally, Faculty of Education, for his DHET-DST/NRF Research Chair under the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) in Community and Worker Education.

Prof Vally is the Director of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation. He has worked formerly as a teacher, trade unionist and until recently, a senior researcher at the Wits Education Policy Unit (EPU), where his work spanned over a 15-year period. He was a visiting fellow at Columbia and York Universities. He works closely with community organisations, social movements and trade unions.

Prof Cecile Nieuwenhuizen, Department of Business Management, Johannesburg Business School (JBS), College of Business and Economics (CBE) for her award: DHET-DST/NRF in Entrepreneurship Education, SARChI.

Prof Erika Kraemer-Mbula, College of Business and Economics (CBE) for her award: DST/NRF/Newton Fund Trilateral Research Chair in Transformative Innovation, the 4th Industrial Revolution and Sustainable Development, which will be a partnership between UJ, the University of Sussex and the African Centre for Technology Studies – ACTS, Kenya. Prof Kraemer–Mbula is currently Associate Professor in Economics in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Johannesburg.

The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) was established in 2006 by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). It is designed to attract and retain excellence in research and innovation at South African public universities through the establishment of Research Chairs at public universities in South Africa with a long-term investment trajectory of up to fifteen years. All of the awards to UJ academics were conferred in December, ensuring that the university completed the year on a high note after several achievements on the national and global research stage.

In congratulating Professors Vally, Nieuwenhuizen and Kraemer-Mbula, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation of UJ, Prof Saurabh Sinha said their feat bore testimony to the fact that UJ continues to be the leading institution in teaching, learning and research. “I am immensely proud of the achievement of our three academics, and I hope their feat will inspire many of our staffers and students to emulate them as we start the new academic year.”