Science Support for Africa

ICTP has signed an agreement with South Africa's National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS) to strengthen their collaboration and support of basic and computational science in South Africa. The signing, which took place at the World Science Forum 2022 in Cape Town, paves the way for joint research, education and visiting opportunities as well as collaboration with ICTP's partner institute in Rwanda, the East African Institute for Fundamental Research.

ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar signed the agreement together with Francesco Petruccione, Director of NITheCS, in the presence of Dr Blade Nzimande, South Africa's Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

"ICTP recognises the importance of building a solid foundation of basic science for the advancement of technology and innovation," said ICTP Director Dabholkar, adding, "ICTP is ideally positioned to assist African efforts in scientific computing to address the challenges that are at the core of a sustainable future for humanity." Dabholkar added that the agreement is in line with ICTP's goal to strengthen its programmes in the field of computational sciences through the establishment of an international consortium on scientific computing.

Dr Nzimande also commented on the agreement, saying "This partnership will not only provide important support for basic science in South Africa, but also serve as a model for future international collaborations in the field."

The MoU is a significant step forward in the relationship between ICTP and NITheCS. “It will have a positive impact on the development of theoretical and computational sciences in South Africa and Africa,” said Petruccione.

The South African National Institute for theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS) provides a platform for research, training and engagement in the fields of Theoretical Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Quantitative Finance, Bioinformatics and Quantitative Biology, Earth Systems Modelling and Climate Change Modelling.