UNESCO - UNISA Africa Chair in nanoscience and nanotechnology

While the previous decades of the contemporary era were mainly steered by macro/micron-scale science, technology and innovation, current human society is being shaped, among others, by the modern trends driven by nanosciences and nanotechnology in view of the quest for miniaturization and societal prerogatives.

Aligned with the UNESCO’s priorities as defined in its Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013, and fitting with the UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks platforms, this Africa chair implements & cements of implementing and cementing the trilateral partnership between UNESCO, UNISA, and iThemba LABS-National Research Foundation of South Africa in the multidisciplinary field of Nanosciences & Nanotechnology. This joint chair, the UNESCO UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences & Nanotechnology (U2ACN2), aims to be the official vehicle and sustainable catalyst of the currently operational academic continental network, the NANOsciences AFrican NETwork (NANOAFNET) which is an Abdus Salam ICTP network in Nanosciences (ICTP Network nº63).

Headquartered at UNISA main campus in Pretoria-South Africa, the mission and vision of the U2ACN2 chair is to instigate
and coordinate;

  • a continental dynamic in nanosciences and nanotechnology through a significant capacity-building;
  • a robust continental human capital mobility programs involving several HEIs in Africa and key partner institutions in the north including the UNESCO-AIEA Abdus Salam ICTP and the International Organization of Women in Sciences (OWSDW) as well as the Academy of Science for the Developing World (TWAS) among others.

The multi-disciplinary approach of the U2ACN2 chair, not only cements the several fragmented Africa national efforts in nanosciences and nanotechnology, but addresses urgent societal needs in the water, energy andhealth sectors in Africa.

The trilateral synergy is titled UNESCO UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences & Nanotechnology: U2ACN2

Last modified: 2023/08/07