Junior Achievement South Africa today announced it is working with BlackBerry® to kick off the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Innovation Camps, with 1,000 high-school learners from 14 countries expected to compete.

 

Building on the success of last year's HIP2B² 3M Innovation Challenge, innovative multinational technology company 3M and non-profit youth organisation HIP2B² are gearing up for a reprise in 2013, along with new partner Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), which is an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology.

South Africa and Germany have deepened their collaboration in science and technology and launched several initiatives in the field, it was announced at the close of the German-South African Year of Science last week.

South African scientist Valerie Mizrahi from the University of Cape Town's Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine has been awarded the Grand Prix Christophe Mérieux Prize by the Institute de France in Paris for her tuberculosis research.

The most challenging areas for agricultural development and job creation in South Africa are the arid and semi-arid regions of the Karoo and Northern Cape, where only cactus appears to flourish. But researchers from the University of the Free State have made three startling discoveries about this prickly and unlovely plant.

Square Kilometre Array South Africa is joining IBM and the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (Astron) in a four-year collaboration to research extremely fast but low-power "exascale" computer systems aimed at developing advanced technologies for handling the massive amount of data that will be produced by the SKA.

Researchers and physics students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) are now part of a team of more than 400 scientists and scholars from 90 universities and laboratories across 19 countries on six continents, working to unveil the mysteries of the high-energy universe.

Researchers from South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed the world’s first injectable medicine from a tobacco plant – an antidote for rabies which could change the way the deadly viral disease is treated worldwide.

KwaZulu-Natal took the top spot in the HIP2B² 3M Innovation Challenge, with Grade 10 Uxholophambili High School learners Nhlakanipho Shezi and Thabani Dlamini of Mpumalanga Township earning the title of "South Africa's Top Young Innovators 2012".

2011 Eskom Expo for Young Scientists overall winner, Palesa Masuku has been appointed a counsellor at the prestigious London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF).

Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom has approved the transfer of R798 million to the National Research Foundation (NRF) for human resource development for the next three years.

The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) recognised top South African scientists at its prestigious Annual Awards Ceremony held in Pretoria on Wednesday. ASSAf annually awards up to two ASSAf Science-for-Society Gold Medals for outstanding achievement in scientific thinking for the benefit of society. This year two awardees were selected.

From 30 July to 4 August 2012, the nation will have another opportunity to participate in the annual National Science Week celebrations led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

A South African matric pupil has won first prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, in the United States, Beeld newspaper reported on Thursday.

The University of the Witwatersrand has congratulated the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor and all those involved in assisting South Africa to win the bid to host the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope.

South Africa has joined the international JIVE radio astronomy research institute, the National Research Foundation (NRF) said on Sunday.

South Africa and Germany have launched a research co-operation initiative that aims to foster local skills development and innovation, while providing a platform for further joint ventures in science between the two countries.

The Department of Science and Technology and one of the country's leading banks, Absa, have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see the two collaborating on ICT and agricultural business development programmes to stimulate the country's growth trajectory.

The UNESCO-L’Oréal For Women in Science (FWIS) International Fellowship is proud to announce that Johannie Spaan from South Africa, Peggoty Mutai from Kenya and Gladys Kahaka from Namibia are the three successful African candidates who will be awarded fellowships in 2012.

Nestlé, the world's leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company, has today announced a ground-breaking research partnership with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a science council which reports to the Minister of Science and Technology. The partnership is aimed at contributing to various research and development work based on indigenous South African biodiversity to evaluate the potential for nutraceutical and functional foods with proven health benefits.

An engineering team from Wits University and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), have developed novel technology to turn biomass (agricultural waste) and garbage (solid municipal waste) into liquid fuel, electricity, waxes and paraffin. It is the first time that this innovative project, developed in South Africa by South Africans, has been manufactured on a small-scale to make it economical for South Africa and other developing countries.

The South African Space Agency's (Sansa's) Space Operations directorate has been selected by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to provide tracking services for the launch of its latest Mars mission.

It was not the thought of facing the judging panel or having to answer their numerous questions that the winner of this year’s Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, Palesa Masuku, found intimidating.

Instead, it was seeing some of the projects entered by the other 724 finalists in the nationwide competition that intimidated her. She nervously wondered how her project, which introduced the use of marula fruit as an alternative energy source, would measure up against the other entries in the competition, which is touted to have been characterised by an extremely high standard of entries this year.

A dynamic programme was re-launched on Friday to help turn the tide against the growing shortage of young girls pursuing careers in the science and technology fields.