National ICT Research Capacity and Priorities for Cooperation - The Kingdom of Eswatini
National Priorities
National ICT Research Priorities include: eHealth, eAgriculture & Food Security, eInfrastructure, Environment, Entrepreneurship, eGovernment Services, CyberSecurity and Mobile computing.
National Research Capacity
There is one public university (the University of Swaziland) and four private institutions of Higher Education: The Southern Nazarene University, Limkokwing University, the Christian Medical University, which opened in August 2013 and Amadi. Limkokwing has Departments focused on ICT/Engineering but its research capabilities are still to be documented. In the Higher Education Sector the institutions that currently undertake research are the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) academic staff, the UNISWA Research Centre (URC) and the Swaziland Institute for Research in Traditional Medicine, Indigenous and Medicinal Food Plants (SIRMIP).
Outside the Higher Education sector, other nstitutions undertake research: the Agricultural Research Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Mathematics/Science and Prevocational Departments of the National Curriculum Centre of the Ministry of Education as well as the Energy Department and Department of Geological Survey and Mines both of which fall under the Ministry of Natural Resources & Energy. The Agricultural Research Division carries out research in support of national agricultural objectives and hence plays a very important role in socio-economic development.
The Swaziland Ministry of Health (MoH) established the Science and Ethics committee (SEC) with the mandate of reviewing and approving research protocols under the MoH.The National Research Council is responsible for coordinating and commissioning all research in the country, including health research. ICAP and MOH partnered to build capacity in epidemiology and research and strengthen the monitoring and use of data to inform policy and programming. The scope of work included support for epidemiology, surveillance, research ethics, and the Health Research Training Program
Swaziland Health communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) strengthens the capacity of national and regional coordination, local implementers and communities to prevent HIV through a community-led and owned process.
Swaziland Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (SEPARC) gives an opportunity to young and energetic researchers to practice professionally in the field of research. This is through mentorship and internship programmes (graduate intern) for professionals who want to develop their research skills and build their career in their respective fields.
ICT-39 Priority Themes
Based on consultation with stakeholders and additional information collected during the IST-Africa Horizon 2020 Training Workshop in November 2016 the following thematic areas are considered to be important in the context of the ICT-39 Call:
| Thematic Areas | Topics | Partners include |
| eHealth | Health Information Systems/Electronic Health Records; Health diagnosis and Surveillance; Telemedicine and remote diagnosis; Logistics Supply Chain Management System; Integrated Response System | University of Swaziland (Department of Health Sciences, Department of Computer Science); Ministry of Health (Strategic Information Department - Research Unit); NGOs working in Health sector |
| eAgriculture | Early Warning Systems; Food Security; Livestock tracking; Drought resistance seeds; Sustainable Agriculture & Bio -Economy; Organic farming | University of Swaziland (Department of Agricultural Research); Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Agriculture and extension); Swaziland Economic Policy Analysis Research Center; Swaziland Environmental Authority; Swaziland Water & Agricultural Development Enterprise |
| eGovernment | Public Service Delivery; National Data Centre | University of Swaziland (Department of Computer Information Systems); Ministry of ICT; Royal Science and Technology Park |
| Environment | Water Conservation; Deforestation and soil erosion | University of Swaziland, Swaziland Environmental Authority, Swaziland Water Services, Ministry of Natural Resources & Energy; Swaziland Institute for Research in Traditional Medicine, Indigenous and Medicinal Food Plants; Montigny |
Level of Research Maturity
The Higher Education Institutions are currently primarily focused on teaching. The general level of research maturity is limited to specific departments where staff members are undertaking research. There are specific institutions undertaking research focused on Agriculture and Energy. The country is currently focused on putting the necessary eInfrastructure in place and encouraging institutions to develop research capacity.