President of the National Research Foundation, Prof Mangaliso;

CEO of SAASTA, Ms Beverley Damonse;

Educators, Parents,

Learners from South Africa and Australia

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

This awards ceremony comes a week after the launch of the national Federation of Engineering, Science and Technology Olympiads and Competitions or FESTOC. The host of today’s ceremony, the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, participated actively in the creation of FESTOC, and its experience and expertise will be vital to get FESTOC off the ground.

The National Science Olympiads managed by SAASTA contribute to national efforts by FESTOC to:

·        coordinate major competitions during the school year;

·        disseminate information on events;

·        ensure that South Africa is represented at overseas events by the best chosen from our domestic competitions;

·        lobby for financial support from sponsors.

My Department will be providing structured support to science, engineering and technology Olympiads and competitions through FESTOC. With these being organised at a national level, I urge the private sector to join us in providing support to FESTOC and its affiliates.

The private sector ultimately benefits from such human capital development initiatives, because the current cohort of young people will eventually become the engineers, technicians and technologists they need.

Our country is not only a leading player in Africa, but also a global player in various international projects. South Africa is an ideal place for young people wanting to follow a career in science, engineering or technology. Let me mention some of the reasons for this:

·        The Square Kilometre Array. If we win the bid to become the host country for this global project, South Africa will be home to the world's leading large-scale radio telescopy infrastructure.

·        The South African Large Telescope in the Northern Cape is the biggest telescope in the southern hemisphere, and we need astronomers to conduct research using this giant outer space exploration instrument.

·        The Gautrain is an enormous transport and civil engineering project, which does not only require different kinds of engineers to work on, but will also provide an ideal training ground for our own engineers to work on the future mega world structures.

·        Our research councils have world-class facilities and world-renowned scientists. The various entities reporting to the NRF, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Agricultural Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the Council for Geosciences and Mintek are ideal places for starting a science career.

·       Our mining, minerals and metallurgy sectors offer numerous possibilities for young scientists and engineers.

·        South Africa has a 3 000 km coastline, and wonderful opportunities for research and development programmes such as mariculture, which will also help to address our food needs, exist.

·       Our country is rich in biodiversity. We have more than 25 000 indigenous plant species, and so much research still needs to be done into their potential to cure diseases and provide nutrition, among others.

These are just a few examples of the great opportunities awaiting our young science graduates.

The National Science Olympiad, which is in its 44th year, is an important part of our efforts to identify and nurture talent and potential. It is one of the biggest events of its kind in the country, with over 19 000 learners participating. 

The selection process for participation in this type of competition is important. It starts at school level, where teachers inspire and encourage learners to enter the national competition, and the role played by teachers in this regard cannot be overemphasised.

School principals also play a supportive role in the motivation, preparation and registration of Olympiad participants.

We are truly grateful and appreciative of the dedication and commitment shown by the schools in guiding and facilitating learner participation in the Olympiads.

The aim of our Youth into Science Strategy is to nurture and develop young people with talent and potential in order to develop a human resource base that would enable our country to participate favourably in the ever-evolving knowledge economy.

In his article, Deciphering Development, Professor Tjama Tjivikua, correctly points out that, “Development is rooted in … knowledge progress, culture foresight and innovation”.

Therefore, our chances of playing a significant role in the modern world economy will be greatly enhanced if we are able to strategically manage the development of our human capital from birth to death.

And in Mark Shuttleworth, we have an example of an individual whose talent was unearthed by a competition like this Olympiad.

The 90 of you here today were selected from over 19 000 entrants, and the organisers are convinced that you are the best in the country.

The activities of the past week were important for the development of your talent, and were geared towards helping you move into science, engineering and technology careers. I hope you made the most of the opportunity.

The National Science Olympiad and SAASTA, under the National Research Foundation, has made an impressive contribution to supporting the process of identifying and nurturing talent among our young people, and we salute them for a job well done.

We also commend and congratulate the learners whose selection for Focus Week has shown their potential to excel. We urge you to continue to develop yourselves through hard work and further studies.

Those who decided on a specific career path and achieved their professional goals are always able to trace back a defining moment that made them choose the path they did.

That might be the influence of, for example, someone they met, a definitive life changing experience, a visit to a science centre, or a documentary on television.

I hope the Focus Week, which has just ended, may have been just such a defining moment in your lives, which has brought you closer to knowing exactly what you want as a career.

During the Focus Week you visited various organisations, laboratories and industries involved in science, engineering and technology. You were also monitored and chaperoned by professionals in these fields who are excellent role models.

For its continued hard work and effort in promoting SET Olympiads, and for successfully organising this Focus Week, we pay tribute to the team at SAASTA.

In closing, I urge you, the talented youth of South Africa, not only to obtain qualifications in the sciences, but also to add to the list of technical solutions and innovations for which South Africa is well known such as the CAT scan for observing soft tissues in the brain, Pratley Putty, the Kreepy Krauly pool cleaner, and SASOL's oil from coal technology.

You are encouraged to come up with solutions and innovations for South Africa and the rest of the world, and seize the increasing opportunities for innovation and creative problem-solving.

My Department is putting in place plans, programmes and agencies to support current and future innovative thinkers in finding local solutions for Africa's unique conditions.

Will you be the one to design new uses for the cellular phone, or design a form of transportation that will meet Africa and other developing countries’ needs, while ensuring sorely needed reductions in carbon gas emissions, build a new type of satellite, or invent something so novel we have not yet even conceived of?

It is up to you to seize these opportunities. And I wish you all well in your future studies and careers, which I believe will be in science, engineering or technology.

Thank you.