China–South Africa young scientists’ roundtable dialogue 

The dialogue was opened by the programme director, who explained its objective as being to gain insights from young scientists from China and South Africa on three topics:

1. How to guide young talents to incorporate personal development into solving China–SA global challenges.
2. The accelerating role of participating in major international scientific research projects in the growth of young talents.
3. Research for the future: What emerging fields and disruptive technologies young talents need to pay attention to.

The South African insights on the first topic were from SACNASP and the City of Cape Town. The colleagues emphasised the importance of professionals being registered and having the necessary skills to tackle global challenges, while their Chinese counterparts mentioned the importance of personal growth among scientists and how they should be equipped to tackle global challenges.

Under topic 2, South Africa was represented by NRF-SAEON and the University of Cape Town (UCT). The emphasis was on the role that international projects play in exposing emerging scientists to cutting-edge technologies, strengthening problem-solving skills and ultimately developing a robust pipeline of future scientific leaders. Dr Ntshidi gave examples from her own experience of skills development in such projects and encouraged young scientists in the room to seize opportunities. She beseeched the leaders in the room to provide strategic funding support, as these projects offer a high level of capacity building and exposure. UCT presented statistics on the number of major projects that were successful and the number of students funded over the years involving UCT and China.

Under topic 3, South Africa emphasised technologies that improve the resilience of the agricultural sector in a changing climate. They also made special mention of the fourth industrial revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) and the circular economy as being among the disruptive technologies that young talents need to hone. While China also mentioned some of these technologies, they added innovative drugs and overall innovations linked to the control of deadly diseases.

The dialogue was followed by a question-and-answer session, where other members from both nations were given a chance to ask questions as well as answer some of the questions. Questions posed to China mostly revolved around professional development and how they handled stagnation in government developments. Discussions revealed that there is more robust development in China’s government departments.

Further discussions focused on research undertaken in the field of clinical medicine and innovative drugs, a discipline that China emphasised needs special attention as it takes into consideration the health of its citizens and the belief that a thriving nation is characterised by its ability to deal with any diseases that may affect its people.

To close off, a leader from the Hunan Association for Science and Technology reflected on the dialogue and voiced his appreciation of the insights shared by the young scientists. He also reflected on the earlier programme and spoke positively about the memorandum of agreement between the South African Department of Science, Technology and Innovation and the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST).

After the breakaway sessions, the groups were given a chance to report back. This exercise was engaging as different people from different backgrounds showed their understanding of the influence they have on local rivers, whether they are farming or as individuals existing upstream or downstream of different pollution sources.