As published by CSIRO Internal Communication 21 July 2014
“A high level delegation from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of South Africa visited CSIRO in Canberra [Australia] to renew a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed by both organisations in 1994.
The delegation was led by Professor Francis Petersen, Chairman of the CSIR Board, and Dr Sibusiso Sibisi, Chief Executive Officer, and included CSIR’s senior executive team.
From left to right: Dr Megan Clark, Dr Sibusiso Sibisi and Professor Francis Petersen at the MoU signing ceremony.
The renewed MoU focuses on research activities in ecosystem science, marine science, global change research and computational informatics, in addition to the encouragement of information and materials exchange and identifying other areas of collaboration. The MoU was signed by the CSIR’s Chief Executive Dr Sibisi and CSIRO Chief Executive Megan Clark.
“The visit by CSIR brought our organisations closer together”, said Megan. “We know how important it is to work together on global challenges, and the MoU and visit will enhance our collaboration in a range of areas.”
Dr Bob Furbank (right) introducing the delegation to the High Resolution Plant Phenomics Centre; Dr Rachel Chikwamba (middle) CSIR Group Executive: CSIR Strategic Alliances and Communication and Dr Sean Moolman, Group Manager, CSIR licensing and ventures on the left.
The CSIR’s visit was preceded by two workshops between experts from both organisations via video conference, one around marine and ecosystem sciences, and the other around computational informatics. These workshops confirmed the many common interests between the two organisations.
During their two-day visit, the CSIR and CSIRO exchanged information regarding strategies, the history and evaluation of Flagships, business development and commercialisation activities, and our roles in the innovation systems of our respective countries. The CSIR also had the chance to learn more about our activities in the Digital Productivity and Services Flagship and Manufacturing Flagship, as well as our water resource management research.
The delegation also visited the High Resolution Plant Phenomics Centre at Black Mountain, where they were given a guided tour by the Centre’s Scientific Director, Bob Furbank.”
By CSIRO Internal Communication 19 August 2014
