Minister Blade Nzimande: 2026 National Research Foundation Awards
Keynote address by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande, at the Gala Dinner of the 2026 National Research Foundation Awards, 3 September 2026
Programme Director, Lerato Mbele;
Deputy Minister, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, and partner;
MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism in the Eastern Cape, Ms. Nonkqubela Pieters;
Executive Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, Ms Babalwa Lobishe;
Our Director-General, Dr Mlungisi Cele;
My Special Advisor, Mr. Nqaba Nqandela;
Deputy Directors-Generals;
Chairperson of the NRF Board, Prof. Ari Sitas and Board members;
NRF Acting CEO, Dr Angus Paterson,
Vice Chancellors, DVCs;
Deans and Academic Staff;
Representatives of the Science Granting Councils Initiative from across the African continent;
Heads and Representatives of Research and Academic Institutions;
Awardees;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Members of the media:
The 2026 NRF Awards are held under the theme, “Building an Inclusive, Impactful and Transformed Research Future”. You could not have chosen a more fitting theme for this prestigious occasion.
As you know, science has intrinsic value in and of itself. It provides a way of understanding the nature and evolutionary dynamics of the natural world and societies.
It also helps us to grapple with some of the most profound questions which have intrigued humanity since the appearance of our species in the anthropological record: where do we come from? What is the nature of the material world? Are we alone in the universe? And what is the future of humanity and our world?
Science also holds powerful practical applications in providing pathways for innovations that can change the world – for good and for bad. Its practical applications can benefit greater humanity, promote social equality and inclusion and ensure sustainable development.
Science can also be used as an instrument of domination and exploitation, and, as we are witnessing today in places such as Gaza, where transformative technologies such AI are used to carry out the targeted killings of civilians and commit genocide.
Therefore, the utility of science, technology and innovation remains a choice we must consciously make. I wish to use this expanded theme to reflect briefly on four strategic questions.
The first issue builds on the issue raised above: ensuring the best possible alignment of all our institutions in the NSI with our country's core national development challenges and its role in a rapidly changing world.
Today, science, technology and innovation are increasingly seen as catalysts for socio-economic development and transformation, and more broadly, tools for creating a sustainable planetary system for future humanity.
Certainly, our Department places a high premium on its value and role. However, I believe the true value and potential of science, technology and innovation are not yet adequately understood, supported, or enabled across all walks of our society.
Our mantra – to place science, technology and innovation at the centre of government, industry, education and society – is aimed at achieving this.
By investing in local research and development, governments and economic agents can build domestic industries, create high-skilled employment, and drive sustainable economic growth that lifts populations out of poverty.
Simultaneously, ST&I provides the critical tools required to confront existential environmental and health crises, such as climate change and global pandemics. Combating climate change relies heavily on developing and scaling green technologies, including renewable energy grids, carbon capture systems, and climate-resilient agriculture.
Equally critical is the growing uncertainty generated by a volatile and uncertain geopolitical environment. Geopolitical rivalries are increasingly fought over technological dominance, semiconductor supply chains, and algorithmic superiority.
This has increased urgency for governments in the Global South to cultivate domestic technological capabilities to reduce critical dependencies on foreign adversaries for energy, telecommunications, and defence systems.
The callous resort to old-style ‘gunboat diplomacy’ tactics using sanctions, tariffs and other extra-legal measures to force countries of the Global South into conformity with the imperial choices of the most powerful nation-states makes the case for African sovereignty even more pressing.
The second issue I wish to reflect on is transformation and human-resource development. If ST&I is to serve society, then the people who produce knowledge, the institutions that host research, and the students who enter the research pipeline must reflect the full diversity and potential of the whole of our country. In advancing human-resource development, the NRF has come a long way since 1999.
• The proportion of Black South African NRF-funded students increased from 46% in 1999 to 86% in 2025.
•The proportion of South African women postgraduate students receiving NRF bursaries increased from 40% in 1999 to 60% in 2025.
• In 2025/26, the NRF awarded postgraduate bursaries to 5,951 students, with 77% receiving Full Cost of Study support.
• Among researchers, the proportion of Black South African NRF-funded researchers increased from 15% in 1999 to 57% in 2025, while NRF-funded South African women researchers increased from 17% to 47% over the same period.
The Full Cost of Study support model, introduced in 2020 through the transformative DSTI-NRF Postgraduate Funding Policy, was designed to provide fuller coverage of financially disadvantaged students who had benefited from NSFAS funding at undergraduate level. However, the slowdown in the growth rate of fiscal investment in this programme, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, has kept the size of this pool constrained.
I am also pleased to note that the proportion of Black South African postgraduate students supported by the NRF has remained at around 86% over the past five years. In addition, the target of women constituting more than 60% of annual funded cohorts has been achieved consistently since the introduction of the 2013 Ministerial Guidelines on Achieving Equity in the Distribution of Bursaries, Scholarships and Fellowships.
The third issue I wish to focus on is the importance of addressing institutional inequality. This issue is crucial not for posterity, but for practical reasons: to ensure our country, with its scarce resource base, makes full use of its institutional resources to reach deeper and wider into every corner of South Africa and unleash its full potential.
While the top research-performing universities continue to attract the largest share of NRF funding, the NRF has also conceptualised, implemented and championed initiatives to address the spatial and institutional inequities inherited from apartheid higher education.
At present, about 63% of NRF funding goes to the 10 universities with the highest research outputs, and 83% of SARChI Chairs are hosted at top-output universities. To broaden participation, strengthen capacity, and deepen structural transformation, earlier this year we awarded 41 new SARChI Chairs, specifically for historically disadvantaged institutions, universities of technology, and new universities.
The NRF has also begun implementing the University Programmes and Collaborations initiative, a set of bespoke interventions aimed at improving research and human capital capacity at historically disadvantaged institutions.
The fourth and final issue I wish to reflect is the importance of national facilities, research infrastructure and public value. Across the national facilities managed by the NRF, we see positive evidence of expanded opportunities for learners, students, early-career researchers, technicians, historically disadvantaged institutions and communities.
•The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s development of MeerKAT and South Africa’s leadership in the Square Kilometre Array have helped transform the country into a recognised radio astronomy ecosystem.
•The South African Astronomical Observatory’s telescopes, the Southern African Large Telescope, the Remote Operations Centre, the Cape Town Visitor Centre and intelligent observatory systems extend South Africa’s optical astronomy capability.
•Since 2005, SARAO has awarded 1,905 grants across the human resources pipeline, including 1,476 grants directly supporting research capacity at South African universities.
•Completion rates of 96% for honours, 92% for master’s and 84% for PhD students demonstrate that transformation and excellence can advance together when funding, supervision and institutional support are aligned.
These are some of the critical areas in with the NRF has made commendable progress and of course, we continue to work with the Board and the executive to improve on those areas that require greater attention.
Lastly, building on the significant work of the NRF and our other entities, we also need to giver closer attention to other strategic imperatives. One is the need to strengthen our commercialisation capacity. South Africa pays far more for foreign intellectual property than it generates from its own innovations.
We must bridge the gap between academic research and commercial application by among others, co-funding early-stage tech development with private industry, driving venture capital into local startups, and turning indigenous discoveries into market-ready products.
The other is the realisation that if we are to unleash Africa’s full potential one of the things we should be deliberate about is the building of sovereign research and development agenda for Africa.
By this I mean a research and development agenda that is designed, funded and executed by Africa. For too long, Africa’s research priorities have been dictated by external donor funding rather than continental needs. Initiatives such as the Science Granting Councils Initiative will be critical in this regard.
In conclusion, as Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation I wish to commend the executive of the NRF for the excellent work that they continue today. I also wish to express our gratitude to the current NRF Board, now in the final year and wish to thank Prof. Ari Sitas for his service.
The NRF awards do not only honour some of our country’s most outstanding scientists and researchers, but they also provide us with a sense of the extent to which we have transformed the critical aspects of our country’s public science system. Congratulations to all finalists and awardees. Enjoy the evening further.
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