SARChI Chairs​
The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) was established in 2006 by the then Department of Science and Technology (now Department of Science and Innovation) under the custodianship of the National Research Foundation (NRF). The programme was "designed to attract and retain excellence in research and innovation at South African public universities…", and have a strong focus on the production of "high quality postgraduate students and research and innovation outputs" (https://www.nrf.ac.za/division/rcce/instruments/research-chairs). This initiative targets researchers with an established track record and regarded as experts in their respective fields. Since the launch of the initiative, the NRF has awarded around more than 200 SARChI Chairs located at the majority of South Africa's public universities.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) was awarded its first SARChI Chair in 2009 and now hosts a total seventeen (17) SARChI Chairs spread across all its Faculties and College.
UJ hosted SARChI Chairs
| Chair holder | Name of Chair | Faculty/College | Department/Centre |
| Prof Fiona Tregenna | Industrial Development | College of Business and Economics | Economics and Econometrics |
| Prof Cecile Nieuwenhuizen | DHET/DST/NRF Chair in Entrepreneurship Education
| College of Business and Economics | Business Management |
| Prof Erika Kraemer-Mbula | DST/ NRF/ Newton Fund Trilateral Research Chair in Transformative Innovation, the 4th Industrial Revolution and Sustainable Development. | College of Business and Economics | Economics and Econometrics |
| Prof Brenda Schmahmann | South African Art and Visual Culture | Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture | Visual Art |
| Prof Elizabeth (Elbie) Henning | Integrated studies of learning language mathematics and science in the primary school | Faculty of Education | Childhood Education |
Prof Shireen Motala
| Teaching and Learning in PSET | Faculty of Education | Childhood Education |
| Prof Jace Pillay | Education and Care in Childhood | Faculty of Education | Educational Psychology |
| Prof Salim Vally | DHET /DST/ NRF Chair in Community and Worker Education | Faculty of Education | Centre for Education Rights and Transformation |
| Prof Wellington (Didi) Thwala | Sustainable Construction Management and Leadership in the Built Environment | Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment | Construction Management and Quantity Surveying |
| Prof Heidi Abrahamse | Laser Applications in Health | Faculty of Health Sciences | Centre for Laser Research |
| Prof Kate Alexander | Social Change | Faculty of Humanities | Sociology |
| Prof Chris Landsberg | African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy | Faculty of Humanities | Politics and International Relations |
| Prof Leila Patel | Welfare and Social Development | Faculty of Humanities | Anthropology and Development Studies |
| Prof Hennie Strydom | International Law | Faculty of Law | Public Law |
Prof Philiswa Nomngongo
| Nanotechnology for water | Faculty of Science | Applied Chemistry |
| Prof Ben-Erik Van Wyk | Indigenous Plant Use | Faculty of Science | Botany and Plant Biotechnology |
| Prof Karel (Fanus) Viljoen | GeoMetallurgy | Faculty of Science | Geology
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