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The President’s visit featured a curated exhibition and a tour of several world-class CSIR facilities. These engagements showcased CSIR’s commitment to innovation-driven research that advances industry, supports a capable state and improves lives.
President Ramaphosa was accompanied by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Blade Nzimande, as well as other government dignitaries. He was warmly received by CSIR CEO, Dr Thulani Dlamini, who guided the delegation and highlighted our organisation’s strategic contributions to national development.
South Africa’s estuaries are home to a unique mix of plant and animal life and provide vital ecosystems services. However, a new study by CSIR researchers has revealed that some nuisance water plants are throwing these delicate ecosystems off balance - literally.
New research shows that invasive plants in South Africa’s estuaries cause extreme swings in water pH from day to night, potentially creating stressful conditions for fish and other aquatic life. Click here to read this story.
Artificial intelligence (AI) researchers in South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK) have developed a prototype tool that will help government and farmers solve one of South Africa’s biggest conundrums: we produce enough food, yet many of us go hungry every day.
“Official reports show that as a country we are food secure at the national level, but at the household level we are food insecure – this is a major challenge,” says Dr Essa Suleman, a food system and animal health expert at the CSIR. Click here to read this story.
On Friday 11 April, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an entity of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), in collaboration with USE-IT and Key Bricks, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a low-cost RDP demonstration house constructed using an innovative prototype brick made from 70% recycled materials (glass and construction and demolition waste).
Honourable President, on behalf of South Africa’s public system science system, I wish to thank you once again for accepting our invitation to visit one of the South Africa’s most premier public science and technology institutions - the CSIR.
Mr. President, as you know, the core mandate of the Ministry, and Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), is to promote and support South Africa’s national development agenda, as expressed in the National Development Plan (NDP) and the strategic policy priorities set by the 7th Administration. Click here for the full speech.
On 8 April 2025, #TeamCSIR was honoured to host President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Pretoria Campus. The visit aimed to showcase the organisation’s key research areas, which support a capable state and the country’s socio-economic development agenda. President Ramaphosa was accompanied by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande and the Deputy Minister, Ms Nomalungelo Gina. Click here for the full speech and watch the video.
SCC selection round registration deadline extension
The Centre for High Performance Computing has extended the registration deadline for its Student Cluster Competition’s (SCC) selection round. Teams now have until 17:00 on Friday, 25 April 2025 to complete their registrations.
All successful teams will be notified no later than Wednesday, 7 May 2025.
The CSIR is making strategic investments in key infrastructure to reduce Africa’s dependence on imported therapeutics and health products. This initiative follows the challenges highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which exposed the continent’s heavy reliance on external medical supplies.
South Africa’s first net-zero science centre, designed by the CSIR, is now an ongoing citizen science experiment in green building practices and a model for future buildings. Learners from two nearby high schools in Cofimvaba, Eastern Cape, use tablets to score the building’s thermal performance, while its water and energy efficiencies are monitored in a digital twin building. Click here to watch and read more.