News and Events

SAP Research Pretoria aims to bridge gaps in ICT development in BRICS region

SAP Research Pretoria, the South African branch of SAP's global research centre, has partnered with world-renowned computer science expert, Professor Jose Luis Encarnacao, to bridge the gaps in ICT uptake inherent in the socio-economic fabric of emerging economies in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Southern Africa) region.

CSIR staff members to give 67 minutes for Mandela Day by online maths tutoring through Dr Math

CSIR scientists and researchers have signed up as tutors for Dr Math, an information and communications technology system developed by the CSIR Meraka Institute, in support of the call to give 67 minutes for Mandela Day. These volunteers will be available to assist learners requiring additional help with mathematics for the period 12 to 24 July 2010.

Setting up CSIR's fire detection system in Kenya

The highly successful Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS) - a CSIR success story which draws on expertise from the CSIR Meraka Institute and support from the CSIR Satellite Applications Centre with funding from Eskom - will benefit countries in east and central Africa.

Commissioning a container Digital Doorway in KwaZulu-Natal

Commissioning the second solar-powered container Digital Doorway - this time in Vumbu Village in rural KwaZulu-Natal - was a singular experience, even for the CSIR's Grant Cambridge who takes challenges in his stride. Vumbu is close to Kranskop; the community comprises mainly subsistence farmers.

Global collective aims to demonstrate developing nations' research capabilities with four collaborative projects

SAP-initiated workgroup gives effect to government's wish for the development of ICT solutions for and by home-grown talent.

CSIR partners with Vodacom on mobile applications challenges

Vodacom, in collaboration with Vodafone, has launched the global pilot of Betavine Social eXchange (BSX) in South Africa - a project to create mobile solutions to solve social problems in a sustainable manner via an open mobile applications community. CSIR Meraka Institute is partnering with Vodacom on the BSX Education and Training Challenge 2010.

2010 Euro-Africa Week on ICT Research and E-Infrastructures

From December 6-10, 2010, a series of events will be held at the Marina Congress Centre, Helsinki, Finland, under the aegis of the European Commission (DG INFSO: International Relations Unit + GéANT and e-Infrastructures Unit) and the African Union Commission (Department of Human Resources, Science & Technology + Department for Infrastructures & Energy) with the support of the Finnish Government (Ministry for Foreign Affairs).

Digital Doorway™@Uganda: Three-seaters steal the show in and around Kampala

What do New York, Ethiopia, the Solomon Islands, Lesotho, Uganda and South Africa have in common? Each of these countries has one or more Digital Doorways™. The Digital Doorway™ encourages self-learning of computer and information skills in areas where information and communications technology infrastructure is scarce.

National event at CSIR puts spotlight on human language technology

The first National HLT Network (NHN) event, which was organised by the Human Language Technology (HLT) Research Group of the CSIR Meraka Institute on 27 January 2010 at the CSIR International Convention Centre, attracted some 85 participants from government, academia and industry.

Quest science magazine launches interactive website

The popular science magazine Quest is launching an interactive website to make science more accessible and exciting for learners. It will be demonstrated using groundbreaking technology developed at the CSIR Meraka Institute.

2nd EuroAfrica-ICT Forum - much to learn and many voices to hear!

The 2nd Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research organised by the FP7 EuroAfrica-ICT EU-funded project and supported by the African Union Commission and the European Commission under the Information Communication Technology theme of the Seventh Framework Programme successfully took place on 4 February, 2010.

CSIR organises Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research in Ethiopia

The Meraka Institute has taken the lead in organising the one-day Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This is in collaboration with partners in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) EuroAfrica-ICT EU-funded project.

Supercomputing, networking and international collaboration in the spotlight at CHPC national meeting and 5th BELIEF Symposium

The 2009 national meeting of the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) combined with the 5th BELIEF (Bringing European eLectronic e-Infrastructures to Expanding Frontiers) Symposium, takes place from 7 to 9 December 2009 at the Sandton Convention Centre. Some 270 local and international delegates have registered for this event.

Empowering persons with disabilities through ICT

Every year on 3 December the world celebrates International Day of Persons with Disabilities. As an initiative leader in the field of information and communications technologies (ICT) for persons with disabilities and the aged, Hina Patel of the CSIR’s Meraka Institute is passionate about using technology to achieve the aims of inclusion and empowerment.

CSIR hosts international meeting of CEOS working group

The first thunderstorm of the Pretoria summer season coincided with the start of WGISS 28 - the 28th meeting of the Working Group on Information Systems and Services. WGISS is a working group within the Committee of Earth Observations Satellites (CEOS).

CSIR partnerships create new expertise in geoinformatics

The CSIR is joining forces with the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Institute for Geoinformatics (IFGI) at the University of Münster in Germany as part of two initiatives to support the development and strengthening of South African capabilities in geo-informatics.

'Talking' cell phones now a reality

A researcher at the CSIR's Meraka Institute has succeeded in putting an open-source text-to-speech (TTS) synthesizer onto the Symbian cell phone operating system. This makes it possible for text messages to be converted to spoken messages.

SANReNs national backbone network completed ahead of schedule

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) have announced that work on the national backbone network of the South African National Research Network (SANReN) has been completed ahead of schedule.

CSIR researcher takes IEEE Female Scientist of the Year 2009 award

Professor Marlien Herselman of the CSIRs Meraka Institute is the recipient of the 2009 Female Scientist of the Year award by the IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) and IEEE South Africa section committee. Herselman received this award on 21 November 2009 at the University of Pretoria.

South African-initiated research collective aims to establish vocal, credible ICT research capability in and for emerging economies

The voice of emerging countries has been amplified on the global ICT research stage following the formation of the first collective representing researchers in this field from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS).

Announcement: 2nd Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research, 2010

The 2nd Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research takes place on 2 February, 2010, at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The CSIR's Meraka Institute is a member of the European 7th Research Framework Programme (EU/FP7) EuroAfriCa-ICT project, which is responsible for this event.

Living Labs: When innovation is born through co-creation

World Development Information Day is celebrated on 24 October to draw the attention of world public opinion to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them. Meet Professor Marlien Herselman whose research interest – Living Labs – explores the benefits of community-driven innovation to support development.

CHPC National Meeting 2009 & 5th BELIEF Symposium

The CHPC National Meeting 2009 and 5th BELIEF Symposium takes place on 7-9 December 2009 at the Sandton International Convention Centre. For more information and registration, visit www.chpcconf.co.za.

Call for postgraduate students: UCT-CSIR's Meraka Institute research project

Scholarships for Master's or PhD studies in the field of earth observation have been made available jointly by the University of Cape Town and the CSIR's Meraka Institute. Interested researchers will be part of a joint team working in the domains of sensor web enablement and geomatics. The closing date for applications is 30 October 2009.

International lecturers bolster MOSS09

A number of international guest lecturers once again joined the Meraka Ontologies Spring School of 2009 (MOSS09), an event hosted by the knowledge systems group (KSG) of the CSIR's Meraka Institute.

CSIR technology supports access to government information and services in rural South Africa

The final pilot of project Lwazi (a Zulu word meaning knowledge or information) takes place on 11 September 2009 at the Thusong Service Centre in Atteridgeville, outside Pretoria. At the heart of this project, which facilitates access for all South Africans to government information and services, lies a winning combination of funding commitment by the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) and the skills of a group of researchers at the CSIR¿s human language technologies (HLT) research group. The HLT research group is one of the research groups of the CSIR's Meraka Institute.

Centre for High Performance Computing puts new supercomputer into operation

The Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) has launched phase 2 of its operations. The latest addition to its facilities is the Sun Microsystems hybrid supercomputer.

ICT offerings showcased for Deputy Minister of Science and Technology

A visit by Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, to the CSIR's Meraka Institute on 22 July 2009 presented an opportunity to update him on the latest and most fascinating research results in the CSIR's information and communications technologies (ICTs) arena. He is no stranger to the Meraka Institute; he officiated at its launch in 2005 and has subsequently visited various projects on different occasions.

CSIR awards national research network tender to Telkom

The CSIR has awarded the contract for the installation of the national backbone network of the South African National Research Network (SANReN) to Telkom.

Cream of the student crop: CSIR talented researchers hold their own in Italy

Ronell Alberts and Thomas Fogwill of the CSIR's Meraka Institute successfully completed the requisite course work for a Master's degree in computational logic at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy.

A tour de force for CSIR researchers at IGARSS09

Researchers from the CSIR stepped up to the mark at the annual IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (IGARSS) in Cape Town from 13-17 July 2009. Not only did they provide high-level planning input, but collectively CSIR researchers delivered 30 papers, presentations, posters or panel sessions over the five days.

Remote sensing researcher scoops best presentation award at 33rd ISRSE event

Karen Steenkamp, a remote sensing specialist of the remote sensing research unit at the CSIR's Meraka Institute, was awarded a prize for best presentation out of more than 300 candidates at the 33rd International Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Environment, held in Stresa, Italy, early in May 2009.

New media features incorporated into National Accessibility Portal

Continuous improvement to features and functionality has ensured that the latest release of the National Accessibility Portal (NAP), NAP 3.1, comes equipped with new media features. NAP is a project of the CSIR's Meraka Institute, developed in collaboration with a number of disabled persons' organisations.

SAFIPA first annual conference a resounding success

The first yearly conference of the South Africa-Finland Knowledge Partnership on ICT (SAFIPA) held on 8-10 June 2009 at the Farm Inn, Pretoria, has been hailed as a success by funders of the SAFIPA programme and the 200 delegates at the event.

Coding activities reach fever pitch at Meraka Institute

Meet the Meraka code sprinters and their leaders! From left, standing: Jonathan Mzengeza (UCT); Moses Iisa (UWC); Samira Mahamo (TUT); Chris Martinus (UP); Dhiren Seetharam and Louis Coetzee (Meraka Institute); Antoine van Gelder (consultant to the Meraka Institute); David Umera (UCT); Edwé Cowley (US); Elektra (Berlin Freifunk); Laurie Butgereit (Meraka Institute). Front: Charles Phiri (Meraka Institute); Tebogo Rens (TUT); Nkosinathi Msimango (UKZN) and Tsholofelo Nkwane (TUT). Not present: Cynthia Mlambo (UKZN)

The code sprint programme is sponsored by the South Africa – Finland Knowledge Partnership on ICT. It is a short collaborative computer programming event with the aim of enhancing the skills of each participant to equip them to enter the South African job market.

Meraka projects also stand to benefit from the code sprints by tapping into this talent pool to finish projects or add enhancements to existing applications. All the work is on open source software. One of the code sprints is IOTA, led by Laurie Butgereit; this group will work on ways to set up a website with information to allow for delivery of compressed (160 characters) responses via an sms-based search facility.

The other code sprint is Afrimesh that focuses on setting up a mesh network with internet connectivity in a rural area. Leader Antoine van Gelder who consults to the Meraka Institute, explains, “This requires both technological know-how in setting up the software backbone and skill in promoting a conversation between the community participants.” Elektra who was responsible for setting up an experimental wireless network in Berlin, will be assisting Antoine and his group. Further information can be found on the Meraka website .

The energetic group of students has representatives from tertiary education institutions throughout South Africa in its ranks, and ranges from undergraduates to postgraduates. They were selected following a call by the Meraka Institute for participation in this adrenalin-filled winter school-type event.

The induction held on 3 July brought participants and staff together for an introduction to the Meraka Institute by Dhiren Seetharam, project manager responsible for the SAFIPA programme. Participants viewed the code sprints as a challenge to learn “new stuff” and an opportunity to meet new people.

The Meraka Institute intends to hold additional code sprints, some of which will be held off-site with themes linked closely to industry. “We’re learning from this first phase,” Dhiren noted, “We’d like you to take the message back with you that code sprints are ‘cool’!”

Mobilising information access - Google gives CSIR researchers the thumbs-up

Two researchers from the CSIR, Professor Etienne Barnard and Dr Fisseha Mekuria, have been awarded Google Research Awards with a combined value of over R1.2 million.

Strengthening international research collaboration on sensor web enablement

A six-week visit by CSIR researcher Bheki Cwele to CSIRO's Tasmanian ICT Centre, is part of a growing trend in collaborative partnerships between sensor web enablement (SWE) researchers across the globe.

Utilising interactive visualisation as a scientific tool

The Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) is making good progress in its quest to deliver visualisation platforms for scientists. The CHPC is funded by the Department of Science and Technology and managed by the Meraka Institute of the CSIR.

Sharing learning abroad on the Digital Doorway innovation

CSIR researcher Grant Cambridge, a member of the team that developed the Digital Doorway, a robust, standalone system for self-learning of computer and information literacy, was called to share his expertise and learning with a group of international post-graduate students at the University of New York.

Data cube concept supports remote sensing research on change detection

Fast access to satellite image time series data has received a leg up through a data storage concept developed by the remote sensing research unit at the Meraka Institute of the CSIR.

C4 hosts AGM and training event

A group of close to 30 current and potential users of the CSIR Cluster Computing Centre (C4) attended the recent annual general meeting (AGM) on 20 March 2009 at the CSIR International Convention Centre. The event was organised by Albert Gazendam, research group leader of the HPC (high performance computing) group at the Meraka Institute of the CSIR.

C4 is CSIR’s own high performance computing facility for both internal and external users.

Albert was delighted at the number and diversity of the organisations represented through this turnout. In addition to staff members from the Meraka Institute, CSIR Built Environment, CSIR ICT Services Centre, CSIR Defence, Peace, Safety and Security, and CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment, the event was attended by representatives from industry (Qsens and inqaba biotec), the Agricultural Research Council, and the universities of the Witwatersrand and Pretoria.

“The prime goal of the AGM was to invite and secure feedback on our activities from our users and potential users,” he explained. “This is key to shaping the vision for our future C4 activities.” Exciting complementary activities include the continuous expansion of the South African Research Network (SANReN) and the development of grid computing activities, which will positively influence the continued use of C4.

Daniel van Niekerk, a human language technologies researcher at the Meraka Institute, who is currently finalising his Master’s degree in computer engineering, noted with appreciation the potential for experimental work through C4, “By using this facility, I can look in greater detail at causes and effects related to my research interest in the field of text-to-speech systems.”

Hardy Jonck of Qsens which specialises in distributed geographical information systems (GIS), was looking forward to using C4 for geospatial modelling applications. These involve large datasets. He commented, “SANReN’s delivery of bandwidth for scientific collaboration will undoubtedly enhance the use of HPC facilities, such as C4.” Hardy was keen to use C4, given his experience of past research and development collaboration with the CSIR on projects in the GIS domain.

The AGM commenced with a meeting of its steering committee and other key stakeholders in the organisation. An investment of R 2 m has been made available by CSIR Executive for expansion of C4 resources. These are currently being installed and will be made available to users in the coming weeks.

It concluded with a training session for future C4 users. CSIR Built Environment’s Oladayo Bello of the infrastructure systems operations area, is finalising a PhD and felt that the training session was of great benefit to researchers wishing to use this HPC facility. Researchers interested in using C4 are welcome to request an account online. At present, the user base stands at 135 accounts.

Interested parties are also invited to join the CSIR’s scientific computing special interest group to ensure that they remain up-to-date with the latest news and developments.

DST and CSIR unmanned aerial vehicle takes to the skies

Guests who attended the début flight of a modular unmanned aerial vehicle by autopilot, applauded spontaneously as the aircraft descended on the mini runway. This phenomenal achievement combines the potential of information and communications technology with excellence in aeronautical design.

Nurturing the next generation of high-performance computing scientists

Enthusing secondary-school learners with a passion for computing is the aim of a joint outreach programme between the Computer Olympiad, the Western Cape Department of Education (WCDoE) and the Centre of High Performance Computing (CHPC).

Finding common ground in community informatics

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in November 2008 between Australia's Monash University and the CSIR, specifically its Meraka Institute, has set the scene for exploring common ground and joint activities on the topic of community informatics (CI).

Meraka Institute hosts leading researcher in mobile learning

In tandem with the growth and ubiquity of personal digital communication devices, mobile learning will grow in popularity and importance globally and in South Africa. This according to John Traxler of the Learning Lab who has spent the past two months at the Meraka Institute of the CSIR in his capacity as 'visiting scientist' to the institute.