Internationalisation of the South African Research Landscape

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Internationalisation of the South African Research Landscape

17 October 2012 1 of 5


Vuyani Lingela and Mapule DegamaDepartment of Science and Technology, Postal Address: Private Bag X894, Pretoria 0001, SouthAfrica; Tel: +27 12 843 6517; Fax: +27 86 681 0051; Email: [email protected]

Introduction

Higher education and research institutions are among the important entities that can developthe country's competitiveness in scientific research, knowledge generation and technologydevelopment. In order to enhance their competitiveness, South African higher education andresearch institutions need to develop active international partnerships. Internationalisation ofSouth African higher education and research institutions can take place by means of jointscientific projects and the exchange of researchers or students between South Africaninstitutions and international institutions 1. In 1994, there were 12 000 international studentsstudying in South Africa and in 2009 there were 60 856 international students 2. These trends

indicate the extent of internationalisation of the higher education landscape in the country.

The purpose of this paper is to show trends in scientific research generated by South Africanhigher education and research institutions, as well as to examine the contribution ofinternational research partnerships to the South African research landscape.

Methods

In order to show trends and examine the role of international research partnerships in theSouth African research landscape, data on the number of publications and citationsproduced by South African researchers and their international partners between 1981 and2011 were obtained from the InCites 3 database. A list of all South African higher educationand research institutions in the database is presented in Table 1. It should be noted thatsome research institutions, such as the Agricultural Research Council and the MedicalResearch Council, are missing from the database. It should also be noted that several highereducation institutions were merged owing to the restructuring of the South African highereducation landscape. Such developments are taken into account in the database.

Table 1. South African higher education and research institutions in the database

Abbreviation Full nameCPUT Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyCSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

CUT Central University of TechnologyDUT Durban University of TechnologyMUT Mangosuthu University of TechnologyNMMU Nelson Mandela Metropolitan UniversityNRF National Research FoundationNWU North West UniversityRU Rhodes UniversitySU Stellenbosch UniversityTUT Tshwane University of TechnologyUCT University of Cape TownUFH University of Fort-HareUFS University of the Free StateUJ University of Johannesburg
mailto:[email protected]


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Abbreviation Full nameUKZN University of KwaZulu-NatalUL University of LimpopoUNISA University of South AfricaUP University of Pretoria

UV University of VendaUWC University of the Western CapeUZ University of ZululandVU Vista UniversityVUT Vaal University of TechnologyWits Witwatersrand UniversityWSU Walter Sisulu University

The numbers of publications produced by researchers in South African institutions jointlywith one or more co-authors who reside outside the country are used in this paper tomeasure the extent of internationalisation for each institution in Table 1. The number oftimes publications have been cited within the country or internationally is used as a proxymeasure of the extent of influence of each institution in the country or internationally.

Results and discussion

In order to present a comprehensive analysis, the discussion of the results in Figure 1 ispresented in five different time periods. The first period is between 1981 and 2011; thesecond is between 1981 and 1990; the third is between 1991 and 2000; the fourth isbetween 2001 and 2010; and the fifth 2011.

The total number of publications and the number of times they have been cited between1981 and 2011, as well as the numbers of international co-authored publications producedby these institutions, are illustrated in Figure 1. Between 1999 and 2000, South Africaproduced 36 177 publications that were cited 512 067 times. The country produced a total of55 362 publications between 2001 and 2010, which were cited 518 086 times. The resultsshow that UCT, Wits, UKZN, SU and UP produced the highest numbers of publications andthey produced the highest numbers with international co-authors. UCT produced 9 164publications with international co-authors out of a total of 24 065 between 1981 and 2011;Wits produced 6 513 publications with international co-authors out of 20 504, and UKZNproduced 4 794 publications with international co-authors out of 14 690.

The number of publications produced by UCT with international partners between 1981 and2011 received 192 074 international citations out of a total of 367 549 citations, while Witsreceived 114 231 international citations out of 247 555 citations, and UKZN received 58 629

international citations out of 137 842 citations. On the other hand, VUT, MUT and CUT arelagging behind in the total numbers of publications and publications with international co-authors. VUT produced five publications with international co-authors out of a total of 55publications, which received only three international citations. MUT produced 13 publicationswith international co-authors out of a total of 101 publications, which received 48international citations. CUT produced 27 international publications out of a total of 129publications, which received 158 international citations.

As illustrated in Figure 2, there is a strong relationship between the total number ofpublications produced by higher education and research institutions, the number ofinternational co-authorships or partnerships, and the number of times the publications arecited. It should be noted, however, that this is not a linear relationship. Figure 2 highlights the

fact that the higher the numbers of publications produced by individual institutions, the higherthe number of times they are cited. It also highlights the fact that institutions that produce the


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highest numbers of publications have the highest numbers of international co-authors orpartners. On the other hand, the lower the number of publications produced by individualinstitutions, the lower the number of times they are cited. Institutions that produce the lowestnumbers of publications have the lowest numbers of international co-authors or partners.

Figure 1 . The internationalisation of the South African research between 1981 and 2011

There are several examples that can be used to make the point illustrated in Figure 2. UCT,for example, produced the highest number of publications with international co-authors in2011, which accounted for 63% (971) of the total number of publications it produced thatyear. It was followed by Wits, which produced 58% (710) of its publications with internationalco-authors. SU produced 52% (594) with international co-authors, UKZN produced 50%(547) with international co-authors, UP produced 48% (489) with international co-authorsand the CSIR produced 48% (463) with international co-authors. However, VU did not

produce a single publication with international co-authors in 2011, while VUT, MUT and CUTproduced only one publication each with international co-authors that year. The UL produced

VUTMUT

CUTVU

UV

DUT

WSU

CPUT

UZ

UFH

TUTUL

UNISANMMU

UWCNRF

NWU

UJ

RU

UFS

CSIR

SU

UKZ

UPWits

UCT

Total publications

VUTMUT

CUTVU

WSU

UV

CPUT

DUT

UZ

UFH

TUTUL

NMMUUNISA

UJUWC

NWU

RU

UFS

NRF

CSIR

SU

UP

UKZWits

UCT

International co-authored publications

VUTMUT

CUT

VUUV

CPUT

WSU

DUT

TUT

UZ

UFHUL

UNISANMMU

UWCUJ

NWU

NRF

RU

UFS

CSIR

UP

SUUKZ

WitsUCT

Times cited (total)

VUTMUT

CUT

VUCPUT

WSU

UV

DUT

TUT

UZ

UFHUL

UNISANMMU

UJRU

UWC

UFS

NWU

NRF

CSIR

UP

UKZSU

WitsUCT

Times cited internationally


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8% (33) of it s of publications with international co-authors between 1981 and 1990, andproduced 17% (109) between 1991 and 2000. On the other hand, the CSIR produced 22%(175) of its publications with international co-authors between 1991 and 2000.

Figure 2 . The internationalisation of the South African research

In 2011, NRF-related research facilities or institutions produced 365 publications that werecited 442 times. Moreover, 73% of these publications were published with international co-authors, accounting for a total of 267 publications. The 267 publications produced withinternational co-authors received 413 international citations. This indicates that most of thearticles by NRF-related research facilities are produced with international co-authors. Thegrowing numbers of international co-authored publications indicates the importance ofinternationalisation in the South African higher education and research institutions.

Conclusions

From the analysis of publications produced by South African institutions with internationalco-authors, it emerges that internationalisation of the South African higher education andresearch institutions has grown significantly between 1981 and 2011. International co-authored publication tripled in numbers from 245 in 1981 to 706 in 1994. By 2011,international publications had increased to 4 536. This means that, although the numbers ofinternational co-authored publications are still small compared to institutions in countriessuch as the United States of America (116 073), Germany (48 008) and China (43 617),South African institutions perform well and compare favourably with institutions in countries

such as New Zealand (4 417), Greece (4 674) and Turkey (4 287)3

.

Number of publications

Number of citations

Internationalpartnerships


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References

1. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, (2012). Internationalization in Higher Education: Opportunities andChallenges for the Knowledge Project in the Global South.http://www.sarua.org/files/Internationalization of Higher Education Final Paper - Prof PaulTiyambe Zeleza.pdf

2. Institute of International Education (IIE). http://www.iie.org/en/Services/Project-Atlas/South-Africa

3. InCites TM, Thomson Reuters (2012). Report Created: 21 Sep 2012 and 12 Oct 2012.Data Processed Dec 31, 2011. Data Source: Web of Science .
http://www.iie.org/en/Services/Project-http://www.sarua.org/files/Internationalization

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Internationalisation of the South African Research Landscape