The State of Mathematical Sciences Research and Research Training at South African Universities

This investigation follows up on two reports that appeared in 2008 and 2009. One was a book commissioned by the South African Academy of Sciences titled “The State of Science in South Africa”. Chapter 3 of the book deals with the mathematical sciences. The second is a report of “Review of Mathematical Sciences research at South African Higher Education institutions”. The project examines the current strengths of mathematical sciences research and research training at South African universities by looking at data from various sources. It is also attempted to identify contemporary research areas and new directions in mathematical sciences that appear to be under-represented or completely absent in the research landscape in South Africa. The range of indicators explored includes postgraduate enrollments and graduations across the university system over a ten-year period; identifying ‘research-active’ and NRF-rated mathematicians and their areas of expertise. Bibliometric analysis will be undertaken to benchmark the performance of the whole system; individual institutions; areas of research concentration and individual researchers against global standards. Thematic workshops organised by International Institutes for Mathematical Sciences will also be examined in order to find out if any of these topics are represented in SA mathematical sciences research.