UK-SA Roundtable and Institutional Visits Advance Doctoral Collaboration Between South Africa and the UK

The National Research Foundation (NRF), with the support of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), led the Roundtable Discussion on the Presidential PhD Programme on 28 October 2025, followed by institutional visits to Imperial College London and the University of Sussex.

The Roundtable convened over 50 senior officials and representatives from leading universities – including Oxford, Southampton, Bath Spa, Edinburgh, Bristol, and Teesside – to strengthen collaboration in doctoral training and research, with a focus on the Presidential PhD Programme spearheaded by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Programme aims to expand South Africa’s pipeline of Doctoral graduates and global research networks through international collaboration, joint supervision, and co-funded opportunities.

The session formed part of the broader UK-South Africa Joint Committee Meeting (JCM), a high-level bilateral engagement that reaffirms the two nations’ shared commitment to advancing science, technology, and innovation.

Discussions under the JCM and Roundtable reflected on existing UK-SA science and technology collaboration successes, including space and radio astronomy, energy, climate change and agriculture, and health research and innovation. New and emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and critical minerals were also highlighted as future priorities. Partners reviewed governance arrangements and developed action plans for 2026-2028 to ensure that collaboration continues to deliver strategic outcomes for both countries.

Dr Thandi Mgwebi, Group Executive: Business Advancement at the NRF presented on the Presidential PhD Programme, outlining South Africa’s doctoral training priorities, opportunities for co-funded PhD initiatives, and the NRF’s envisaged hub-and-spoke model for the Programme – designed to strengthen capacity at Historically Disadvantaged Institutions and Universities of Technology by linking them to established research-intensive universities through shared training, infrastructure access, and research partnerships. The NRF’s Dr Nokuthula Mchunu (Manager for International Collaborative Research Grants)  emphasised leveraging existing initiatives and models such as the NRF’s partnership through the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Global Knowledge Partnerships and the Africa-Japan Collaborative Research.

At both Imperial College London and the University of Sussex, the NRF delegation engaged with academic leadership and research management teams to explore collaborative doctoral training models, interdisciplinary research, and innovation partnerships. At Imperial College London, engagements focused on engineering, health sciences, and emerging technologies – areas central to South Africa’s innovation agenda – while the University of Sussex visit highlighted cooperation in sustainability, social sciences, research-for-policy, and inclusive innovation.

“As a next step, the NRF and FCDO will co-host a dedicated partnership engagement to advance these outcomes and foster an inclusive, sustainable research ecosystem connecting South African and UK institutions”, Dr Mgwebi shared.

The engagements concluded with a shared commitment to establish joint programmes and collaborative frameworks that extend beyond the Presidential PhD Programme. These will include thematic research exchanges, joint fellowships, and institutional linkages aimed at reinforcing the long-term partnership between South Africa and the United Kingdom.