jump to navigation

INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY ‘COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE’ MEETING HELD AT ASSAf November 24, 2011

Posted by Louise in : Events, Open Access Scholarly Publishing , add a comment

From left: Louise van Heerden (ASSAf), Adèle van der Merwe (CSIR), Hettie Groenewald (UP), Ria Groenewald (UP), Zweli Ndayi (ASSAf) and Susan Veldsman (ASSAf)

On Wednesday, 23 November 2011, the Scholarly Publishing Unit of ASSAf hosted a ‘Community of Practice’ meeting focussing on Digitisation. The meeting was arranged by Louise van Heerden, SciELO SA Database Coordinator and Zweli Ndayi, Project Officer and Institutional Repository Coordinator.

(more…)

PROGRAMME OFFICER’S TRAINING IN ETHIOPIA October 19, 2011

Posted by Louise in : ASADI, Africa, Events, NASAC , add a comment

The participants outside the conference venue

Zarina Moola (Policy Advisory Programme) and Louise van Heerden (Scholarly Publishing Programme) from the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) were invited to participate in the Programme Officer’s Training Course organised by the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), in collaboration with the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences. The training was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 3 to 6 October 2011. There were representatives from the academies of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Senegal, Morocco, Ethiopia and South Africa. The course was made up of four days of lectures and practical exercises designed to provide participants with practical skills and knowledge useful for the designing, planning and managing of academy activities and the dissemination of results. Participants were also familiarised with the functions, organisation and operations of other African academies and fostered an exchange of ideas on how science academies in Africa support policymaking in their countries. 

The training facilitators were Lauren Alexander Augustine (The National Academy of Science, U.S.A), Jackie Olang (NASAC), Doyin Odubanjo (Nigerian Academy of Science) and Nthabiseng Taole (ASSAf). The training was made possible thanks to generous support from the Royal Society (U.K.) and the National Academies of Science (U.S.A.) through the ASADI programme.

Louise and Zarina at ‘Lucy’s Restaurant’ (named after Lucy, the famous partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis  found in Ethiopia)

NATIONAL SCHOLARY EDITORS’ FORUM MEETS AGAIN August 24, 2011

Posted by Louise in : Events , add a comment

The National Scholarly Editors’ Forum (NSEF) held its fifth annual meeting in Kempton Park’s Emperors Palace Convention Centre on Thursday, July 28 2011. This was the second NSEF meeting to be hosted at the venue near the OR Tambo International Airport. 

The theme this year was: “Changing landscapes of academic research and publishing”.  (more…)

National Scholarly Book Publishers’ Forum meets June 20, 2011

Posted by Louise in : Events , add a comment

The National Scholarly Book Publisher’s Forum met on the 27th May 2011 at the Human Sciences Research Council’s offices in Cape Town. The meeting was attended by representatives of nine publishing institutions.

The vision and mission of the National Scholarly Book Publishers’ Forum is to make the Forum a significant new stakeholder in the South African national innovation system (NSI), with a voice that helps shape policy and promotes excellence and high visibility of the country’s research activities through the promotion and proper resourcing of scholarly book publishing in and from the country.

The objectives of the National Scholarly Book Publishers’ Forum will be generally to support and promote high-quality scholarly book publishing in South Africa, and especially to assist in the efforts of the Academy bringing about the following: (more…)

Public lecture on open access: Prof Tom Cochrane March 14, 2011

Posted by Louise in : Events, International Relations, Open Access Scholarly Publishing, Publications , 2comments

Prof Tinyiko Maluleke (Executive Director: Research, UNISA), Mrs Susan Veldsman (Director: Scholarly Publishing Programme, ASSAf) and Prof Cochrane (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Queensland University of Technology)

ASSAf hosted Professor Tom Cochrane from the University of Queensland to speak on The development of the open access paradigm in scholarly publishing, on 25 February 2011. Prof Cochrane is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Technology, Information and Learning Support) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). (more…)

National Science Week 2010 August 16, 2010

Posted by Philistas in : Events, Liaison, National Relations , 2comments

The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) in collaboration with the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), held lectures during the National Science Week from 2 to 7 August 2010 in all nine provinces.

The lectures were aimed at encouraging students to further their studies up to post-graduate level, highlight the contribution of published research undertaken at institutions to evidence-based policy making, and emphasise the role of science in economic development as well as the “International Year of Biodiversity” theme.  (more…)

Role of libraries in research March 24, 2010

Posted by Zweli in : Events, Humanities and Education Studies, Open Access Scholarly Publishing , add a comment

South African Library Week 2010 will be celebrated from 22 – 27 March 2010 with the theme: “Reading changes lives“. SALW2010 was launched on Saturday 20 March at the National Library of South Africa to coincide with the date of the declaration of the first public library in South Africa in 1818.

The Academy is made up of researchers wanting to benefit society through their research. Libraries play a crucial role in this endeavour.

During Library Week we acknowledge the role that libraries play in the production of research. Whereas the internet at large provides general information resources, libraries provide authoritative information resources such as books, journals and access to academic electronic resources.  Click here to read more about SALW2010.

TWAS Conference approaches: the final countdown October 13, 2009

Posted by Andrea in : Events, International Relations, Liaison , add a comment

Preparations for the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) 11th General Conference to be hosted by ASSAf at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Durban from 19-23 October 2009 are well underway. Over 400 TWAS Fellows and invited guests are scheduled to attend what promises to be a momentous event. The theme for this year’s conference is “Science for Africa’s Development”. TWAS Committees and Council will assemble for two days prior to the start of the conference. Science and Technology (S&T) in South African will be showcased in a symposium comprising invited presentations from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and representatives from the Centres of Excellence in South Africa. (more…)

A round of applause for our new colleagues! September 29, 2009

Posted by Andrea in : Events , add a comment

Two new colleagues have joined our ranks at the Academy of Science of SA. I’d like to say a big welcome to Tawanda and to Philistas.

Tawanda is our new IT genius in residence (a much-needed one at that), joining us as our new System and Database Manager. Philistas will be our new (strongest) link between the Academy and its Members, taking on the position of Liaison Officer.

Welcome to you both, and we’re really happy to have you with us!