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Research Dashboard
Postdoctoral
Research
Fellows
Postdoctoral research fellows (PDRFs) are much sought
after at UCT in view of their potential to strengthen the
research enterprise, and relieve the dwindling numbers
of academic staff and researchers in South Africa and
on the continent of Africa. The number of postdoctoral
researchers that register for up to five years at UCT has
increased steadily since 2002, and the university hopes
to further increase this number in the next five years.
In 2012, 282 registered postdoctoral research fellows
received more than R52 million in funding support. As can
be seen from
Table 6
, individual academic departments
and the NRF remain the strongest supporters of this
sector. However, donated funds, such as the sponsorship
received from the Claude Leon Foundation, play a vital
role in attracting and sustaining PDRFs at UCT.
The majority of PDRF registrations are in the Science
and Health Sciences faculties. UCT support increasingly
aims to move beyond only financial administration of
the sector. To this end, increased attention is being paid
to the quality of the postdoctoral experience, as well as
advocacy to recognise the critical role they play.
In 2012, 35 PDRFs attended conferences in 21 countries
and received mobility grants valued at R535 397. Some
PDRFs are registered at UCT but receive external
support which is not administered by the PGC&FO. 282
PDRFs are recorded as being registered, but only 267 of
these received UCT-administered fellowships.
Table 5: Postdoctoral Research Fellowships per faculty, 2012
Table 6: Postdoctoral Research Fellowships by source of funds in 2012
Faculty
Number of registered PDRFs Number of fellowships awarded
Value
Commerce
8
19
R1 787 732
Engineering & the Built
Environment
21
41
R3 324 495
Health Sciences
99
168
R20 292 827
Humanities
26
34
R3 662 981
Law
4
7
R919 291
Science
124
187
R22 157 664
Total
282
456
R52 144 990
Source of funds
Number of fellowships made
Value
UCT funds
70
R4 940 168
Departmental funds
234
R29 533 179
Donations
16
R2 641 058
Investments
1
R12 000
Medical Research Council
3
R390 000
National Research Foundation
132
R14 628 585
Total
456
R52 144 990