IST-Africa 2016 Conference

11 - 13 May 2016, Durban, South Africa

Welcome

IST-Africa 2016 (11 - 13 May) is the eleventh in an annual series of Ministerial Level Technology Research Conferences, supported by the European Commission (EC) and African Union Commission (AUC).

Focused on Information Society and ICT Policy Dialogues, International Development and Research Cooperation and Community Building, each conference brings together senior representatives of leading public, private, education and research organisations from 50 countries to discuss policy, share insight and identify collaboration opportunities.

The goals of the IST-Africa Conference Series are to

- Support Development of the Information Society and Knowledge Economy in Africa

- Promote International Innovation, Research and Policy Cooperation and Coordination

- Showcase African Research and Innovation Capacity

- Stimulate exploitation of research results by the public and private sectors

Double blind peer reviewed papers accepted into the Conference Proceedings and presented during the conference, will be submitted for inclusion in IEEE Xplore.

IST-Africa 2016 Programme

The Final Programme features an Opening and Closing Plenary Session and a Scientific Programme with 42 thematically focused sessions featuring over 180 presenters from public, private, education and research organisations in 36 countries. Click here to download the Final Programme brochure.

The IST-Africa Workshop on Open Innovation, ICT and Social Entrepreneurship in Africa is on Tuesday 10 May.

Keynote speakers include

- H.E. Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa

- H.E. Hlengiwe Buhle Mkhize, Deputy Minister Telecommunication and Postal Services, South Africa

- Phil Mjwara, Director-General, Department of Science and Technology, South Africa

- Morten Moller, Senior Advisor to European Commission, Belgium

- Anneline Morgan, Senior Technical Advisor, Southern African Development Community, Botswana

Plenary panellists include

- Daan du Toit, Deputy Director-General, International Cooperation and Resources, Department of Science and Technology, South Africa

- Imraan Patel, Deputy Director-General for ICT, Department of Science and Technology, South Africa

- Dr Setumo Mohapi, CEO, State Information Technology Agency (SITA), South Africa

- Barlow Manilal, CEO, Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), South Africa

- Dr Pascal Hoba, CEO, UbuntuNet Alliance, Malawi

- Dr Gansen Pillay, Deputy CEO, National Research Foundation, South Africa

- Warren Hero, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft South Africa

- Stephane Hogan, Science Counsellor at the EU Delegation to the African Union, Ethiopia

- Prof. Darelle van Greunen, School of ICT, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

- Prof. Maurice Mars, Department of TeleHealth, University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

- Mr Mpho Matsitse, Industry Value Advisor, Information Technology Association of South Africa

- Martin Weiss, Senior Technical Officer, MRC-PATH Global Health Innovation Accelerator, South Africa

- Tsietsi Maleho, General Manager: Monitoring, Evaluation & Partnerships, The Innovation Hub, South Africa

Workshop on Open Innovation, ICT and Social Entrepreneurship in Africa

The IST-Africa Workshop on Open Innovation, ICT and Social Entrepreneurship in Africa on 10 May will provide a forum to discuss and share perspectives on the current level of Collaborative Open Innovation and ICT-based Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship in Africa.

Workshop Objectives

The objectives of this interactive workshop are to (a) identify the needs of ICT Entrepreneurs and Social Entrepreneurs in different African contexts, (b) identify opportunities to strengthen support currently provided by Innovation Spaces, the education and research sector and public sector agencies responsible for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship and (c) inform the development of a coordinated multi-stakeholder approach to promoting and supporting Open Innovation, ICT Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship.

In such a process, it is important to capture views, perspectives and experiences from all key stakeholder groups including the private sector (including ICT Entrepreneurs), societal sector (including Social Entrepreneurs), education and research sector, public sector, international donors and management of Innovation Spaces (e.g. Pre-Incubators, Incubators, Accelerators).

Participants will have the opportunity to share insight, identify potential collaborators and contribute to a longitudinal study being undertaken as part of the activities of IST-Africa. Outputs from this workshop will be used to inform research, policy and publications.