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Dear colleagues
This announcement aims to keep members of the research community informed about news and updates in the research space.
A new eRA in research at UCT
A new process to streamline and standardise research processes at the university will be rolled out across UCT in August. As mentioned in last week's RA by DVC Designate Professor Sue Harrison, this is the pre-awards process, the latest
module in the electronic Research Administration (eRA) programme, an ambitious project to create one streamlined software solution for the myriad research administration processes at UCT.
In the pre-awards process, researchers will get the necessary internal consistency check and application workflow for their grant applications before submission to the funder. This process, which was successfully piloted in the Faculty of
Health Sciences and the IDM, will standardise research processes at UCT to ensure the university can effectively support international grant applications.
Leading up to the rollout in August, the eRA team will be engaging with faculties to find out more about how this pre-awards module is likely to affect existing research processes in individual disciplines. Contact Natalie Simon, internal communications officer in the Research Office if you wish to set up such a meeting in your department.
Read more
Research with integrity: what the Office of Research Integrity can do for you
Scientific research produces substantial social benefits, but this should never come at the cost of individual rights. As a research-intensive university, UCT’s research practices must comply with the highest ethical standards in social and
scientific research. The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) are advocates for ethical research. Their role is to guide UCT’s research community to sustain and enhance responsible conduct of research and ensure compliance with the highest applicable
national and international ethical and legal standards – which are increasingly necessary for internationally funded projects.
Read more
High-performance computing cluster upgrade complete
UCT’s new high-performance computing (HPC) cluster is installed and operational. The upgraded facility provides an HPC cluster geared towards researchers with major computing needs but is also accessible to the full community of researchers.
The cluster is split into several partitions, featuring newer, faster nodes; graphic processing units; high-memory nodes and the older, original cluster nodes now available for teaching and lower-priority jobs.
The new cluster is both scalable and economical, especially in terms of power consumption and heat dissipation.
Find out more about HPC at UCT
Geographic Information System services move to the UCT Libraries
The UCT Geographic Information System (GIS) Lab is a consulting service for all researchers who want to use spatial data and GIS services. While GIS mapping technology services have always been available to the wider campus community, the service
itself is now moving from the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment into the UCT Libraries to be more accessible to all researchers. UCT GIS serves as a support centre for all UCT staff and postgraduate students.
Find out more about what GIS offers
URC statement on ‘Elsevier wars’
The University Research Committee (URC), in its April meeting, agreed that while it supports the move towards greater openness of scientific literature and condemns the rising costs in the for-profit academic publishing industry, it does not
support any kind of dissociation from Elsevier or other for-profit publishing houses at this point.
Citing the significant costs individual researchers would have to carry to access academic publications if existing agreements with Elsevier were cancelled and the way in which this would compromise UCT academics that serve on some of the
editorial boards, it was agreed that it would be premature and potentially harmful to the UCT community to consider a break with Elsevier at this point in time. It should also be remembered that through membership of the South African National
Library and Information Consortium (SANLIC), the university benefits from consortium-agreed discounts with Elsevier and a more powerful platform for negotiation with the publisher.
Read more about the Elsevier wars at the University of California.
Moving away from journal-based metrics as a tool of assessment
In its April meeting the University Research Committee (URC) agreed to support the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). As part of this commitment, the URC resolved that UCT should work with other South
African institutions of higher learning to commit to the principles of DORA at a national level.
The DORA is a set of recommendations that seek to enhance the standard way in which the output of scientific research is evaluated by funding agencies, academic institutions and other parties, particularly by shifting the focus from journal-based
metrics (initially developed as a tool to help librarians identify which journals to purchase) as a primary parameter to measure the scientific output of individuals and institutions to more qualitative peer-assessment of research on its own merits
rather than on the basis of the journal in which the research is published.
Read the full San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment
Help us stay on top of our NRF grants
The Research Support Services team in the Research Office kindly request that you notify them of any employment terminations or NRF grant holders: this includes contracts ending, resignations of retirements.
Please let them know by emailing [email protected]
Training and opportunities
Call now open for 10 Junior Research Fellow Awards to URC-accredited research groupings
Prof Sue Harrison, DVC Designate for Research & Internationalisation, is pleased to announce this call to all directors of UCT-accredited research groupings for 10 Junior Research Fellow awards, to be made available as three-year, fixed-term
T2 contracts. The purpose of these awards is to increase research productivity and strengthen the career-pathing of a next generation of researchers and to bolster the research capacity of UCT’s research groupings.
Another call for 20 such fellowship awards will be made next year, targeting UCT’s strategic research areas that are currently being developed, and that will be finalised through consultation leading up to the start of the first semester of
2020.
Download the call to find out more.
Deadline approaching for UCT Enabling Grant Seeker Excellence Awards
Under the leadership of the DVC Designate for Research & Internationalisation, Professor Sue Harrison, and as part of a three-year pilot initiative, the Research Office would like to draw attention to the revision in eligibility criteria of
the UCT Enabling Grant Seeker Excellence Awards.
Clause 2.3 was amended and broadens the eligibility criteria. The call (with some refinement based on the funding environment) will be repeated annually on a rolling basis for three years with applications due on 30 June each year.
Find out more and apply online
nGap: Be part of the new generation of academics at UCT
Applications are now open for five academic posts as part of phase five of the New Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP). The programme is partly funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training and is intended to build a generation
of excellent, young, black South African academics and establish them in the country’s universities. Posts are advertised in Film and Television, Mechanical Engineering, the Numeracy Centre, Organisational Psychology and Psychiatric Genetics. nGAP
scholars are appointed into permanent positions, where their conditions are customised to ensure their successful transition to being established academics.
Contact Rob Morrell to find out more.
Submit your proposal to MacArthur Foundation 100&Change: a competition for a $100million grant to sponsor a single proposal
100&change is a MacArthur Foundation competition for a 100 million dollar grant to fund a single proposal. The successful proposal will make measurable progress towards solving a significant
problem that has a charitable purpose. The competition welcomes ideas that identify a single problem and its proposed solution. Any critical issue is welcomed as no sector or field is out of the limits of this competition. Proposals should be
impactful, evidence-based, feasible and durable and will be assessed using these criteria.
Potential applicants are requested to inform Tameryn Stringer of their intention to submit by 28 June 2019. Details of the internal approval process will be communicated to prospective applicants
thereafter.
Research data management training
Discover how you can become a more efficient researcher in today’s digital world: start managing your data and your research process with guidance from the Digital Library Services team.
Training opportunities include:
- Research data management with DMPOnline
- Doing digital scholarship
- Sharing and publishing with ZivaHub.
See the full calendar here.
UCT TV video production specials
UCT TV is offering two special packages for creating short promotional or educational videos. Please note that the period for the special packages has been extended to June/July. UCT TV produces a wide variety of work, including multi-camera
event coverage, short documentaries, promotional videos, training videos and talk shows. For further information, contact the studio producer on [email protected] or 021 650 3985.
Read more about the video production specials.
Postgrad corner
NRF postgraduate scholarships for full-time studies in 2020
The Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF) have opened the call for applications for honours/BTech, master’s and doctoral scholarships for full-time studies in 2020. Importantly, UCT postgraduates who are
eligible for UCT merit and need awards (application via form 10A) are required to apply for these NRF
scholarships. UCT will reject applications submitted after the UCT internal closing dates indicated in the table below.
For more information and to download the relevant application forms click here.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2020 at UCT
UCT has partnered with the Mastercard Foundation in its global Scholars’ Program: an educational initiative that provides academically talented young people from economically disadvantaged communities in Africa with access to quality university
education. These scholarships offer comprehensive financial assistance with visa applications, travel, tuition, living expenses, medical aid and accommodation. For the 2020 academic year, 85 scholarship opportunities are available for postgraduates
(13 honours and 72 master’s). The deadline to apply is 30 June 2019.
Visit the website to find out more.
Upcoming workshops
- Research data management: create a data management plan with DMPonline
Both the new Student MoU and many funders now require students to outline their data plans for their research projects in a data management plan (DMP). UCT Digital Library Services is offering a series of talks and workshops to take you through the
reasons for creating a DMP, planning for your data, as well as guiding you through using the DMPonline platform. Book your place.
- PhD proposal writing workshop on Friday 14 June 2019
Postgraduates are invited to attend a workshop on writing research proposals. While this workshop focuses specifically on the doctoral proposal, it may also be beneficial to those who are looking for guidance on writing their dissertations.
Book your place.
- Finishing off, moving on workshop on Tuesday 9 July 2019
Finishing up your PhD and feeling anxious about what happens next? You’re not alone. This workshop is intended to support students in the final stages of dissertation writing and submission, as well as to raise awareness of decisions and
opportunities beyond completion of the PhD.
Book your place.
UCT postgrads on Twitter
Follow UCT postgraduates on Twitter to keep up to date with funding and career development opportunities, as well as important announcements.
The Research Announcement is produced by the Research Office, University of Cape Town.
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