NRF-SAEON's uLwazi Node Wins at the ‘Science Oscars'

The National Research Foundation (NRF) congratulates uLwazi Node, which manages the Open Data Platform of the South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON), for winning the coveted NSTF-South32 Data for Research Award.

uLwazi, meaning ‘knowledge’, is one of NRF-SAEON’s seven nodes. It was established in 2018 to support data management and the development of information platforms and decision-support tools for Government departments.

It received major recognition at the NSTF-South32 Awards on Thursday, 11 July 2024. Known as the ‘Science Oscars’ of South Africa, the NSTF-South32 Awards honour and celebrate outstanding contributions to science, engineering, technology and innovation in the country. They are organised by the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF).

The Data for Research Award recognises an individual or a team that has made great strides in the advancement of the availability, management and re-use of research data. The recognition is based on the value of a data set openly available to be re-used for public good and interest.

uLwazi Node has cemented its place as a critical platform for the provision of environmental data to policymakers, researchers and the public. Its Open Data Platform hosts several projects funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), which include the Marine Information Management System (MIMS); the Climate Change Information System (CCIS); the South African Carbon Sinks Atlas; and the South African National Environmental Information Metadata System (SANEIM).

Says Leo Chiloane, Manager of the NRF-SAEON uLwazi Node, “Our team is thrilled to have won the NSTF-South32 Data for Research Award and are proud to have been finalists alongside the University of Cape Town’s Digital Library Services and the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA), who are doing impressive work.”