Stias Annual Report 2017 Stias Annual Report 2017
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STIAS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 STIAS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 3 STIAS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 CONTENTS 02 Chairman’s foreword 20 STIAS longer-term theme projects 74 Funding and governance 03 Director’s overview 26 STIAS-Wallenberg Round Table 75 Financial report 04 2017 at a glance on mHealth 76 Director and staff 06 “There is no such thing as autopilot” 28 STIAS fellows and projects 76 Facilities 08 Data in brief 2017 66 STIAS fellows and projects list 77 Acknowledgements 10 Early career STIAS support for 68 STIAS lectures and seminars Contact details African researchers 70 STIAS publications Company information 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 1. Barney Pityana 2. Crain Soudien 3. Louise du Toit 4. Olayemi Akinwumi 5. Michelle le Baron 6. Andrew Macnab 7. Hans Lindahl 13 8. Njabulo Ndebele 9. Victor Tchieda 10. Abdallah Daar 11. Lucie Laflamme 12. Charles Fombad 13. Janos Bogardi 15 16 17 18 14. Christian van den Broeck 15. Richard Sikora 16. Eugene Terry 17. Kim Berman 18. Nina Jablonski 1 STIAS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD During 2017, STIAS was able to continue building progress. We are hugely indebted to the Wallenberg on a strong foundation which combines a focus Foundations and Göran Sandberg. Early in 2018 on excellence with a sustained engagement of STIAS was informed that Stellenbosch University contemporary challenges, in particular as they will match the support pledged by the Wallenberg manifest in Africa. The STIAS fellowship programme, Foundations. May I assure our benefactors that we with its regular seminar series and ongoing public will do our utmost to justify their confidence and faith lectures, flourished and achieved record occupancy in STIAS. Other generous support in 2017 which we rates, and the longer-term theme projects grew would like to gratefully acknowledge was received from strength to strength. The five Iso Lomso from the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, the Trellis fellows selected from the first call for applications Charitable Trust, the Donald Gordon Foundation and in 2016 were in residence for the first time in 2017, a personal donation from Dr Edwin Hertzog. as were four (of six) other strong applicants whose experimental or fieldwork-oriented projects could Lastly it is my pleasure to thank the ever-growing not be supported by STIAS over the period of time STIAS family, which comprises its fellows (past and envisaged for Iso Lomso fellows. Other activities, present); Stellenbosch University management; the STIAS-Wallenberg Round Table, the Seminar Swedish experts drawn from various backgrounds to on Constitutionalism in Africa, workshops, summer assist in a number of STIAS activities; members of the schools, meetings and book launches took place at STIAS Board, the STIAS Academic Advisory Board, regular intervals during the two 2017 semesters. and the Fellowship and Programme Committee; STIAS staff and, in particular the STIAS Director, A clear highlight of the 2017 STIAS programme was Hendrik Geyer. I salute you all and thank you for your the residency in November of Joseph E. Stiglitz, sterling contributions and your success in developing recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic STIAS into a world-class institute for advanced study. Sciences in 2001, who accepted a Donald Gordon STIAS fellowship invitation and presented a public lecture with the title The revolution of information economics: the past and the future. Not only is hosting someone with an international profile of the Desmond Smith calibre of Joseph E. Stiglitz a tremendous honour Chairman of the Board for STIAS, but it is also an indication of the growing reputation of STIAS. The success of STIAS is underpinned by two strong pillars – its supporters and benefactors, and the people who make up the STIAS family. Support during 2017 by its major long-term funders, the Wallenberg Foundations and Stellenbosch University is acknowledged with deep appreciation. Towards the end of 2017 STIAS was informed of renewed and substantial support from the Wallenberg Foundations commencing in 2018. Funding will be for five years, renewed for a further five years subject to satisfactory 2 STIAS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW STIAS remained true to its guiding quest: to advance the Some activities on the 2017 research agenda include: conference at STIAS jointly hosted with the African cause of science and scholarship across all disciplines. • ThefifthSTIAS-WallenbergRoundTable(Mobile Centre for Cities. Projects which draw on an interdisciplinary basis, technology in health care: promises and perils) • AspartofitsparticipationinthePointSud feed into this discourse, and are considered topical was held in February. STIAS fellow Guy Dumont programme, STIAS hosted and funded a summer and relevant to the (South) African context, continued organised an international workshop on Technology school in December on New forms of political to provide the backbone of the STIAS programme. for maternal, newborn and child health back-to-back participation in Africa at the Centre for Research on A sizeable component represented activities within with the Round Table. Local Knowledge, Point Sud, Bamako. Two STIAS the existing longer-term theme projects, and a new • AworkshoponParticipatory realism funded by a fellows, Charles Fombad and Simon Bekker, were one, University and society, was added to the portfolio. grant from the Trellis Charitable Trust and addressing among the lecturers. A highlight of the year was the full deployment of the issues at the interface of the foundations of quantum Iso Lomso Programme – nine young and early career mechanics and philosophy was held in June. STIAS prides itself as being an “independent African scholars (five Iso Lomso fellows and four • DuringSeptemberSTIAShostedthefifth space where innovative ideas and original Iso Lomso visiting scholars) were resident at STIAS Stellenbosch Annual Seminar on Constitutionalism thinking can thrive”. Did it live up to these during 2017. in Africa (SASCA) with the theme Corruption and expectations? The following quote from an constitutionalism in Africa. exit report echoes many similar remarks: • STIASmaintainedandextendeditstieswiththe In numbers: 77 fellows and 16 visiting scholars “There is no doubt that any success this African Academy of Sciences (AAS), notably participated in the 2017 programme for a total of book will have, will be in large part due to through residencies at STIAS of Berhanu Abegaz, the total STIAS experience – a space where 170 fellowship months. Fifty-one seminars in the former AAS executive director, and Kevin Marsh, I could work, a professional social space fellows’ seminar series and eight public STIAS senior adviser to the AAS. In addition STIAS hosted lectures were presented, the latter on the campus of a second summer school (Developmental origins of where I could learn, a staff that made Stellenbosch University. Fellows and visiting scholars health and disease translational science: from cell to everything work perfectly all the time, also presented and participated in numerous colloquia society) for young African scientists in November, and the creative array represented and lectures at academic departments of universities of co-organised with and co-funded by the AAS. by the fellows.” the Western Cape and also lectured at the universities • STIASco-hostedtwopubliceventsonthe of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Stellenbosch University campus: a conversation I will conclude that the answer (Dialogue, writing, and humanity in troubled times) is an unqualified “yes”. between Homi Bhabha (Director of the Mahindra Nineteen books were published relating to work carried Humanities Center at Harvard University) and STIAS out at STIAS; two of these (including the tenth volume) permanent visiting fellow Njabulo Ndebele (with the appeared in the STIAS series published by AFRICAN Historical Trauma and Transformation Research SUN MeDIA. Seven chapters in books were published Initiative) and a public lecture (Science, the Square Hendrik Geyer and 58 journal publications appeared with the STIAS Kilometre Array telescope and big data: can Africa Director of STIAS affiliation. Web of Science indicates 1 028 citations for lead?) by Bernie Fanaroff, former SKA director (with STIAS papers published in the five-year period 2013 the Cosmopolitan Karoo project). to 2017 with an h-index of 19; a good indication of • Anumberofbooksrelatingtoworkcarriedout considerable impact. at STIAS, were launched at STIAS: Dancing the death drill (Fred Khumalo); Purpose and desire. What makes something “alive” and why modern For the period November 2016 to November 2017, Darwinism has failed to explain it (Scott Turner); 66 applications were received via the direct application and National Park science – a century of research route. Of these, 27 were turned down because they in South Africa (Jane Carruthers). Göran Therborn’s were not suited to the STIAS programme or because book Cities of power: the urban, the national, they were not of a sufficiently high standard. the popular, the global was launched during a 3 STIAS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 2017 AT A GLANCE MNCH Tech, a workshop on technology for maternal, newborn and child health is hosted by STIAS from 22 to 24 February. It is The Workshop on participatory co-sponsored by the Peter Wall realism, organised by STIAS Institute for Advanced Studies, fellows Chris Fuchs and the Centre for International Child Rüdiger Schack is held Health and STIAS. JUNE at STIAS. The fifth STIAS-Wallenberg Round L Fred Khumalo’s novel Dancing STIAS and the African Table focusing on image-based mobile the death drill is launched at Centre for Cities jointly RI technologies to improve health care is STIAS. The novel was written UST host a conference UARY held at STIAS on 20 and 21 February. in part while Khumalo was in G on Refractions of the It brings together over 60 AP residence at STIAS in 2014.