Africa’s doctoral graduates have a different role to play across the continent than they did in the years immediately after independence.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Doctoral studies are valued as an engine for development in Africa. If doctoral graduates are to meet this challenge, the very structure of the doctoral programme must change.
Victoria Island waterfront in Lagos. President Buhari needs to emulate China and South Korea by urgently investing in science and technology to take Nigeria’s economy to the next level.
Reuters/Joe Penney
Investing in science, technology and innovation can help give Nigeria a positive lift in many sectors of the economy.
Australian manufacturing can provide the “silver sliver” - or the high-value - part of world goods.
Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com
Australia has the frustrating distinction of repeatedly producing world-beating ideas - only to lose them overseas. Why can’t we hold onto what we invent?
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) and Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt (centre) prior to the Queensland Budget being delivered in State Parliament in Brisbane.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
The Palaszczuk government’s first budget for Queensland has promised to drive new investement and jobs in the knowledge based sectors.
Governments should allow flexible regulations to capture the wave of disruptive innovations.
Eskay/ Shutterstock.com
Ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Gojek are disrupting the market for traditional transportation services in Jakarta.
Prospective students storm the gates at the University of Johannesburg in 2012. The demand for universities is soaring across Africa.
Adrian de Kock/EPA
Africa needs private universities. But far more must be done to make them powerhouses of knowledge, research and graduate output.
Innovators might be stifled if fees for patents rise too high.
European Patent Office European Inventor Award/Flickr
Rising fees for patents could stifle innovation in Australia. So what how much should we charge for patents?
Connecting researchers to industry and investment is a great idea.
Caleb Roenigk/Flickr
If we want to boost innovation in this country, we should emulate a scheme that has proven highly successful in the United States.
Can the inner city of Johannesburg become the flat white that is proving the perfect brew in London’s East End?
Wits Archives
Drawing on models that have proved hugely successful in major cities around the world, Wits University is creating a large and ambitious Digital Innovation Zone.
Scientists have struggled to work together to provide solutions for societal challenges such as energy and climate change.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
There is a long road to travel before South Africa’s scientists live up to the grand expectations to encourage solutions to the country’s problems and boost the economy.
Rita Yao Kakou belongs to the Association of Women Researchers, which works to raise the profile of women in science in the Ivory Coast.
Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon
Men rule the roost in science and technology as women continue to battle against the glass ceiling.
With one invention James Watt blasted the UK 60 years into the future.
James Eckford Lauder, 1855
Issues of energy and climate will be solved by engineering, not climate science.
Now that’s inventive! Spotted at Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers.
Flickr/Len Matthews
What’s behind the fall in the figures for patent applications in Australia? Is it just a lack of innovation or is something else to blame?
With new sources of venture capital funding Australia can boost innovation and its economy.
Image sourced from Shutterstock.com
Australia can attract much needed venture capital funding through its Significant Investor Visa system, but only if a proposed new system is designed well.
How will the technology landscape look?
men at work by Kirill__M/shutterstock.com
The election brings a new government: what does the next five years hold in store for UK technology plc?
Bright ideas are needed if Australia is to remain competitive.
Flickr/Andr s Nieto Porras
Australia needs to take risks and think clever if the country is to stay competitive in a global market.
Butterfly effects.
Julia Folsom
Are we ready for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design how we move into a new era of capitalism?
From 1-click to 1-push ordering with Amazon’s Dash Button.
Amazon
Amazon Dash can ensure you never run out of soap, washing powder or razors again. But it can’t push the button for you.
Queensland’s Parliament building. The state had a strong history of supporting research and innovation under the Smart State banner.
Flickr/Neal Jennings
With future funding for science and research by the federal government still unclear, can the states play a role?
President Obama shows off a wooden snowflake made using advanced manufacturing techniques.
Reuters
Despite the hyper-partisanship in Washington, there appears to be agreement that the government should do more to invest in science and technology innovation.