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Research showcase to foster collaboration with industry
Author: Media & communication, Faculty of Science
Published: 29/11/2017

At the Faculty of Science's first research showcase on Friday 17 November 2017 researchers and postgraduate students presented nearly 50 posters to an audience of over a hundred guests from industry, our alumni and academic staff from other SU faculties.

Prof Louise Warnich, dean of the Faculty of Science, says the showcase is one of the initiatives identified by the faculty's advisory board to build relationships with industry: “The Faculty of Science is acutely aware of its responsibility not only to equip and prepare students with the high-level skills demanded by the so-called 'Fourth Industrial Revolution', but also to push boundaries and to contribute to new knowledge. However, we cannot do this in isolation. The faculty has initiated various opportunities for staff and students to promote collaboration and enhanced visibility of our research. Today's showcase is an example of such an initiative.

“The aim of the showcase is to unlock new research and collaboration opportunities on multidisciplinary projects. We strongly believe that this approach will allow us to address the complex questions and challenges that we face in the world today," she said in her speech at the showcase, which was held in the foyer of the SU Music Conservatory.

Mr Kobus Viljoen, managing director of VASTech and a member of the faculty's advisory board, says he appreciates the university's and the faculty's efforts to reach out to industry: “My colleagues and I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction and we look forward to next year's showcase."

According to Prof Willem Visser, vice-dean research in the Faculty of Science, all researchers can also benefit from exposure to other disciplines, especially when that may potentially lead to collaboration on interdepartmental or interfaculty level.

Click here for a list of all the posters presented.

On the photo above: Several alumni, now working for industries such as Kansai Plascon, attended the research showcase. From left, Paul Reader (PhD in polymer science, 2014), Peter Hollis (MSc process engineering) and Reda Fleet (PhD in chemistry and polymer science, 2010). ​