Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Encyclopedia
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is South Africa
's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament
in 1945 and is situated on its own campus
in the city of Pretoria
. It is the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in Africa and accounts for about 10% of the entire African R&D budget. It has a staff of approximately 3,000 technical and scientific researchers, often working in multi-disciplinary teams.
and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. This alliance, which is known as the Southern Education and Research Alliance (SERA), collaborates locally and internationally with universities, NGO’s, companies and multinational bodies in various research areas. The SERA partners share a vision for a world-class, innovative and market responsive business that delivers appropriate information, facilitates knowledge connectivity through knowledge workers, links the best minds to create a global network, and protects intellectual property
. Through their co-operation the alliance partners aim at fostering a non-exclusive academic, scientific and technological environment that will benefit all participants and the country as a whole. Sera has a 50% shareholding in the Innovation Hub, a fully accredited technology park situated on 60 hectares of the university's experimental farm.
Research centres at the CSIR
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
in 1945 and is situated on its own campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
in the city of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. It is the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in Africa and accounts for about 10% of the entire African R&D budget. It has a staff of approximately 3,000 technical and scientific researchers, often working in multi-disciplinary teams.
SERA
In 1999 a strategic alliance was formed between the University of PretoriaUniversity of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. This alliance, which is known as the Southern Education and Research Alliance (SERA), collaborates locally and internationally with universities, NGO’s, companies and multinational bodies in various research areas. The SERA partners share a vision for a world-class, innovative and market responsive business that delivers appropriate information, facilitates knowledge connectivity through knowledge workers, links the best minds to create a global network, and protects intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
. Through their co-operation the alliance partners aim at fostering a non-exclusive academic, scientific and technological environment that will benefit all participants and the country as a whole. Sera has a 50% shareholding in the Innovation Hub, a fully accredited technology park situated on 60 hectares of the university's experimental farm.
Research areas
The CSIR's main areas of research are:- Biosciences
- Built environment
- Defence, peace, safety and security
- Information and communications technology
- Laser technology
- Materials science and manufacturing
- Mobile intelligent autonomous systems
- Nanotechnology
- Natural resources and the environment
- Space technology
- Synthetic Biology
Research centres at the CSIR
- National Laser Centre
- Meraka Institute
External links
- CSIR Website
- CSIR Research Space - provides access to some of the research outputs generated by CSIR scientists
- Defence Research and Development in South Africa - The Role of the CSIR
- Meraka Institute - The African Advanced Institute for Information and Communication Technology
- Human Factors and Enterprise Engineering - research group at Meraka Institute http://hufee.meraka.org.za/Hufeesite
- Transport research in the CSIR: http://www.csir.co.za/Built_environment/Infrastructure_systems_and_operations/
- Optronic Sensor Systems