Knowledge and Innovation: Building Bridges of

Communication
Sibusiso Sibisi
Public address: University of Witwatersrand, 8 May 1997
http://www.wits.ac.za/sibtalk.html

Introduction
When I was asked to give this public address, my first instinct was to request an
overhead projector. I was initially distressed at being told that I could not use one (and
for good reason too), but upon reflection I am glad that this is so. The overhead
projector is an indispensable part of the mode of communication to which I have
become accustomed; that of scientific seminars full of equations, graphs and numbers.
But while the visual image can be very powerful, the lack of spontaneity imposed by
visual aids can also create a distance between speaker and audience. There is nothing
more frustrating than trying to listen to someone who ``does not talk your language''.

Indeed, as I wrote the paper it became increasingly apparent that there was something
more fundamental that I needed to address: the theme of cultivating a culture of
communication, upon which all else rests. This is the primary issue I want to explore
today, and the manner in which it feeds into the theme of my original paper ``Some
Thoughts on Research Direction: Innovation through Research-based Enterprise''.
(This paper will remain available on the internet and upon direct request; as will the
text of this talk.)

Today is also an opportunity to break away from formal style; not to project my
transparencies but to transparently project my thoughts, my visions and indeed
myself. Accordingly, I shall pull a veil over formality and allow my narrative to freely
explore the issues I wish to discuss.

This informal exploration is a metaphor for something much more profound: the
removal of communication barriers at all levels of interaction.

It is on the basis of free communication that we can successfully discuss and

implement constructive ideas. I would like to share a few of my own ideas with you
today. These ideas may well already be on the minds of many people here. If so that is
good, for it reinforces my own belief in them.

I shall start by discussing the challenges facing higher education in South Africa
today: delivering far-reaching access to knowledge and putting knowledge to
innovative use to address the country's problems. I shall then turn to the ``new culture
of communication'' represented by the Internet and how we might use it to
maximmum benefit. I shall then discuss multi-pronged approaches to tackling the
challenge of innovative use of knowledge. Finally, I shall turn to the main theme of
my formal paper: technology transfer from higher education to industry through
research-based enterprise.
The Challenges of Education and Innovation
Wits is located in Gauteng: the place of gold. Yet Wits has a resource much more
valuable than gold: unlike gold, it expands as it is extracted and multiplies as it is
distributed. This inexhaustible resource is knowledge: it is a resource which can and
should be available to all people.

The dissemination of knowledge on a large scale is a challenge facing all levels of

education in South Africa today. But extraction of knowledge for its own sake is only
a part of the story; it must also be used innovatively, to confront the challenges of the
country. Putting knowledge to innovative use is a challenge primarily facing higher
education and research institutions. As pointed out in ``An Overview of a New Policy
Framework for Higher Education Transformation'' by the National Commission on
Higher Education (NCHE):

• ``higher education should consolidate its position as a major component of the

National System of Innovation'' (The National System of Innovation underpins
the Science and Technology White Paper ``Preparing for the 21st Century'')

Like any other world class university, Wits has a valuable investment in people and
facilities built up over many years. We must further build upon this resource, with its
well-established track record at teaching and research, in order to meet the demands
of today. Like universities the world over, Wits has a structure of academic
departments organised by discipline. But the enormous challenges cut across different
disciplines and thus suggest a multidisciplinary mode of thinking. However
multidisciplinary co-operation does not take place spontaneously; it must be actively
encouraged. This takes us back to the theme of the removal of barriers to
communication.

A New Culture of Communication

The dismantling of communication barriers is predicated upon people talking to each
other; an activity which academics can be notoriously poor at. There are various ways
of encouraging a culture of communication, such as organising Open Days. An
occasion such as the Wits Open Day (10 May) is an opportunity to communicate the
character and activities of the university to the outside world as much as to members
of the university.

The Impact of the Internet

The most spectacularly influential contributor to the culture of communication in

academia is undoubtedly the Internet. Increasingly, academics are telling the world
about themselves and their work through their internet home pages. For example, I
find myself learning a great deal about Wits via the Internet from Cambridge. I have
spent many rewarding Sunday afternoons visiting numerous sites such as the
informative and well-designed site on Rock Art research.

The internet is a new mode of communication whose potential for teaching and
research is quite staggering. It is much more than an electronic library; it has a
dynamic structure which allows us to backtrack and move sideways to other context-
related documents as we read. This mimics the way we think and talk much more
closely than the linear presentation of ideas that books force us into; and thus seems
ideally suited as a vehicle for learning. That said, the Internet is a medium which
should complement rather than replace person-to-person communication and the
standard written word in book-form. We need to think imaginatively about how to tap
the potential of the internet for education. Much has been said about the risk that the
information age enhances the divide between privilege and deprivation by creating a
new tension between the information-rich and the information-poor. While this calls
for vigilance, we must not shrink from embracing this technology and all that it offers
for conveying knowledge. Rapid developments in telecommunications and
moderately priced network computers raise exciting possibilities. There is real scope
for the country-wide equipping of schools and other institutions such as resource
centres with Internet access in the foreseeable future.

There is an interplay here between education and innovation. Hardware access is but
one part of the story. Well-designed educational content material is the more
important part. This is a ripe area for multidisciplinary effort. Such thoughts lead me
naturally to a concept I shall refer to as an ``Institute of Ideas''.

An Institute of Ideas

I now wish to turn to ideas inspired by my observations and experiences abroad.

Cambridge University has an establishment called the Isaac Newton Institute for
Mathematical Sciences, whose primary brief is to conduct multidisciplinary research
on applicable topics. The Institute hosts researchers from diverse institutions in
academia and industry from all over the world to work on specific multidisciplinary
programmes over fixed periods of 3 to 6 months, say. Past programmes have included
the modelling of infectious diseases, financial modelling, and other topics within
mathematical sciences. At the end of the programme, the reports and papers arising
therefrom are available on the Internet and in hardcopy form for any interested
member of the public.

Although it has only been going for less than 5 years, the Isaac Newton Institute has
proved enormously successful at fostering multidisciplinary interaction. It provides
inspiration for an ``Institute of Ideas''; a less specialised concept of similar structure.
One envisages an Institute whose programmes are not restricted to mathematical
sciences and need not be at the cutting edge of research. Suitably chosen to reflect the
needs of South Africa, such programmes might be no more than a review of the state
of the art in that field or a ``foresight programme'' on the perceived opportunities for
innovation and enterprise in an otherwise established field. The programmes might
involve a component of expository lectures open to the public in addition to more
formal programme seminars.

An example of a foresight programme is suggested by the opening up of the global

telecommunications industry following the World Trade Organisation Agreement of
15 February 1997. It is estimated that there will be a \$1,000bn boost to the world
economy over the next 10 years arising from the agreement. When the stakes are that
high, it would be helpful to know what the prospects for the enterprising South
African might be, particularly with the expected relaxation of the Telkom monopoly
in 2002. This is the sort of study that could be conducted by the Institute with the help
of a group of experts in the field from academia and industry.

Examples of potential programmes abound. Returning to the subject of education via

the Internet; one can imagine a very far-reaching multidisciplinary programme on
educational Internet content material. Inspired by the recommendations of such a
group, one can further imagine academics from areas as diverse as computer science,
languages and history together constructing material in such areas as computer
animation of traditional folk stories with dialogue in the various languages of South
Africa. Perhaps in time kids (and grown-ups!) might be able to interact with such
applications; such as interactively translating the dialogue for themselves. These
exciting possibilities may seem remote now but they may be realisable sooner than we
think.

In time, the Institute could evolve to a conveniently accessible and authoritative

electronic and walk-in resource centre on a range of ideas. Such a service would play
the role of

• being a science and technology educational resource centre remotely

accessible to schools, say, or serving as a physical walk-in centre.
• informing the private and public sectors and academia alike on areas of further
research or potential commercial investment.
• being a fountain of inspiration for innovative start-up companies

This would, of course, enhance the profile of Wits in all the quarters referred to
above.

The concept of an Ideas Institute is a logical precursor to more ambitious technology

transfer programmes from higher education to industry. Some projects would, no
doubt, be privately commissioned, so that the Institute could double as a clearing
house for consultancy work. The Institute would then farm the work out to researchers
in the appropriate fields. Such an industrial liaison role relieves academics with
teaching and administrative duties from spending an inordinate amount of time
chasing industry projects.

Universities and Innovative Enterprise

There is much to be learned from the experiences of other countries in the relationship
between universities and innovative enterprise. Silicon Valley has grown out of
Stanford University into the most successful cluster of enterprises in the world. In
recent years Cambridge University has seen the formation of over 1,000 companies
and the creation of 30,000 new jobs on the basis of science and technology. These
spectacular successes have arisen from the tenacity of individuals and institutions
with a vision. Apart from job creation, these activities have resulted in considerable
financial gain for the universities themselves.

The Ideas Institute can be guided through an evolution process to a structure

encompassing the incubation of start-up enterprises spawned from or related to
academic activity. Such ``Incubator Centres'' are well-studied, and they can promote
activity of technology transfer more efficiently than traditional ``science parks''. The
activities might involve low or high technology, as driven by the perceived needs. I
shall not dwell on this issue here as it is taken up in more detail in my original paper,
but I am more than willing to discuss it further.

Conclusion
Gauteng hosts a numerous higher education and other research institutions as well as
numerous small and large technology-driven private sector establishments, quite apart
from government departments. With its strong science and technology base, Wits is
eminently well-placed to spear-head the implementation of ideas discussed here:

• Imaginative use of the Internet

• An Institute of Ideas
• An eventual Incubator Centre for innovative technology transfer

Success is predicated upon more than mere policy decree; it requires financial
resources, but we can start from humble beginnings. Most importantly, there must
prevail a culture of communication amongst all parties involved.

Finally, the most important aspect of communication is the ability to listen. You have
listened to me; it is now time for me to listen to you.

Thank you.