Southern Education and Research Alliance
Encyclopedia
The Southern Education and Research Alliance (SERA), founded in 1999, is a strategic alliance formed between the University of Pretoria
and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The alliance collaborates locally and internationally with universities, NGO’s, companies and multinational bodies in various research areas. The SERA partners share a vision for a world-class, innovative and market responsive business that delivers appropriate information, facilitates knowledge connectivity through knowledge workers, links the best minds to create a global network, and protects intellectual property
. Through their co-operation the alliance partners aim at fostering a non-exclusive academic, scientific and technological environment that will benefit all participants and the country as a whole. Sera has a 50% shareholding in the Innovation Hub, a fully accredited technology park situated on 60 hectares of the university's experimental farm.
, research
, market related activities, intellectual property and venturing are to be the focus of this co-operation. The teams have examined the current reality and market opportunities in each of these fields, and have developed proposals for a variety of activities, such as the joint offering of graduate programmes, the development of joint institutes or centres of expertise and ad hoc
projects .
Venturing opportunities have been referred to SERA (Pty) Ltd, a company that was set up as the technology exploitation branch of the alliance. Its primary focus is the pursuit of the best, most profitable means of bringing technologies to the market through venturing, commercialisation and the protection and exploitation of intellectual property.
The strategic alliance continually seeks synergies and domains of mutual benefit for both organisations. A number of benefit schemes, including a staff study rebate scheme, an undergraduate bursary scheme, extraordinary professorships, the appointment of fellows and continuing education benefits for both partners have evolved from the alliance.
The Innovation Hub is situated on a knowledge axis between the University of Pretoria and the CSIR on the university's experimental farm. The Innovation Hub offers an environment conducive for technology-driven businesses and high-technology entrepreneurs, and attracts anchor tenants, stimulate research and development and provide incubators for start-up businesses. The development will include the establishment of a high-technology incubator. This partnership aims to create a new dimension that combines the strengths of the University and the CSIR with those of business and the government in order to stimulate economic activity and offer opportunities to commercialise local, innovative technologies.
SERA (Pty) Ltd has a 50% shareholding in The Innovation Hub Management Company (Pty) Ltd and The Innovation Hub Incubator Company (Pty) Ltd and is the sole owner of SERA Hub Investments (Pty) Ltd. Negotiations for the establishment of a venture fund are ongoing, while both the University and the CSIR have subscribed to the formation of the new Department of Trade and Industry Innovation Fund.
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The alliance collaborates locally and internationally with universities, NGO’s, companies and multinational bodies in various research areas. The SERA partners share a vision for a world-class, innovative and market responsive business that delivers appropriate information, facilitates knowledge connectivity through knowledge workers, links the best minds to create a global network, and protects intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
. Through their co-operation the alliance partners aim at fostering a non-exclusive academic, scientific and technological environment that will benefit all participants and the country as a whole. Sera has a 50% shareholding in the Innovation Hub, a fully accredited technology park situated on 60 hectares of the university's experimental farm.
Background
The alliance partners have identified a number of areas of common interest, ability and capacity. Within these areas, themes have been identified and task teams have been put together to explore the possibility of co-operation. EducationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, market related activities, intellectual property and venturing are to be the focus of this co-operation. The teams have examined the current reality and market opportunities in each of these fields, and have developed proposals for a variety of activities, such as the joint offering of graduate programmes, the development of joint institutes or centres of expertise and ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
projects .
Venturing opportunities have been referred to SERA (Pty) Ltd, a company that was set up as the technology exploitation branch of the alliance. Its primary focus is the pursuit of the best, most profitable means of bringing technologies to the market through venturing, commercialisation and the protection and exploitation of intellectual property.
The strategic alliance continually seeks synergies and domains of mutual benefit for both organisations. A number of benefit schemes, including a staff study rebate scheme, an undergraduate bursary scheme, extraordinary professorships, the appointment of fellows and continuing education benefits for both partners have evolved from the alliance.
The Innovation Hub
SERA and the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) agreed to establish The Innovation Hub through the Blue IQ initiative, a multi-billion rand initiative of the provincial government to invest in the development of economic infrastructure in identified mega projects in tourism, smart industries and high value-added manufacturing, to create a "smart" province.. The Innovation Hub is South Africa and Africa's first internationally accredited science and technology park and is a member of the International Association of Science Parks.The Innovation Hub is situated on a knowledge axis between the University of Pretoria and the CSIR on the university's experimental farm. The Innovation Hub offers an environment conducive for technology-driven businesses and high-technology entrepreneurs, and attracts anchor tenants, stimulate research and development and provide incubators for start-up businesses. The development will include the establishment of a high-technology incubator. This partnership aims to create a new dimension that combines the strengths of the University and the CSIR with those of business and the government in order to stimulate economic activity and offer opportunities to commercialise local, innovative technologies.
SERA (Pty) Ltd has a 50% shareholding in The Innovation Hub Management Company (Pty) Ltd and The Innovation Hub Incubator Company (Pty) Ltd and is the sole owner of SERA Hub Investments (Pty) Ltd. Negotiations for the establishment of a venture fund are ongoing, while both the University and the CSIR have subscribed to the formation of the new Department of Trade and Industry Innovation Fund.
Projects
- African Centre for Gene Technologies (ACGT) was established in 2001 as the SERA biotechnology task team. ACGT has since grown into a regional initiative.