South African Kiara Nirghin was named the winner of the Grand Prize at the annual Google Science Fair, announced in Mountain View in the US on 27 September. She won $50 000 (R677 357) in scholarship funding.

Signed at the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association conference, in Windhoek, in Namibia, the agreement advances the ongoing collaboration between the agencies in the areas of learning exchanges, joint research projects and joint publications.

CeSTII executive director Dr Glenda Kruss highlighted that the capabilities mattered as it could inform contextualised solutions to persistent development challenges, such as water and food security, healthcare and livelihoods.

“When looking at international case studies and analyses of best practice in economic development, we see that innovation and technology diffusion can play a significant role.

“We are, therefore, keen to understand what Namibia is doing well in this area and share lessons learnt, so that our countries can benefit from our collective experiences, and contribute to build expertise across the Southern African region,” Kruss added.

CeSTII further shared new plans to pilot surveys of innovation in the informal economy, and disseminated findings from its most recent national surveys, including its 'Research and Development Survey 2014/15' and the first national survey on intellectual property and technology transfer.

Sources: Engineering News