“Well done to all of you. I'm very proud of you and it's a pleasure to work with all of you. It is a particular source of pride for me that our researchers are so productive."
With these words, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU) Prof Wim de Villiers on Thursday (31 August 2017) congratulated a large number of SU researchers who received new ratings from the National Research Foundation (NRF) in 2017. They were rated for research excellence in their respective fields.
A total of 81 researchers received new ratings in 2017. Together with this new crop, SU now has 430 rated researchers of which 12 have an A-rating because they are regarded as world leaders in their fields. This places the University in the top three higher-education institutions in the country.
The NRF rates researchers in the five distinguished categories, namely researchers regard ed as world leaders in their fields (A-rated) ; researchers that enjoy considerable international recognition by their peers (B-rated); researchers regarded as established in their field young researchers (C-rated), with exceptional potential, that are likely to become future international leaders in their fields (P-rated) and young researchers with the potential to establish themselves as researchers within a 5-year period after evaluation.
The NRF rating system is a benchmarking system by which individuals that exemplify the highest standards of research, as well as those demonstrating strong potential as researchers, are identified by an extensive network of South African and international peer reviewers. Ratings are based on the quality and impact of recent research outputs over an eight-year period.
Some of the advantages of being rated is that the rating is used as a national indicator of excellence. A successful rating also allows researchers the option of applying for incentive funding from the NRF.
Awards are valid for a period of six years. The next round for rating applications will open in September 2017 and will close on 15 February 2018.
- For more information on SU's internal process, or to find out more about NRF rating, contact Maryke Hunter-Hüsselmann at mh3@sun.ac.za or Aasima Gaffoor ataasima@sun.ac.za in the Division for Research Development.
