By Vukosi Mathale
The Technology Transfer and Innovation Support (TTIS) office has awarded a senior lecturer in Chemistry, Dr Frans Smit, the 2023 NWU Innovation Fellowship. The NWU Innovation Fellowship programme is a new initiative of the TTIS that aims to provide an opportunity to early-career NWU researchers and academics to expand their entrepreneurial expertise. The overarching goal of the Innovation Fellowship is to cultivate a culture of innovation at the NWU and to build a new cohort of academics and innovators who are focused on generating solutions with a broad societal impact.
Dr Janine Chantson, TTIS chief director, emphasises that innovations arising from research conducted at the NWU can lead to a tangible societal and economic impact beyond traditional academic outputs.
“In developing innovations ready for market uptake, researchers undertake a range of tasks such as assisting with market research, providing input into patent examinations and marketing the innovation. These tasks are all too often not recognised as being “core” to their role. The NWU Innovation Fellowship is a way to incentivise entrepreneurial researchers to participate in technology transfer activities,” Dr Chantson explains.
Dr Smit graduated with a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the NWU. His current research is focused on organic chemistry synthesis within the focus area for Chemical Resource Beneficiation (CRB), where he is also a group leader of the Catalysis and Synthesis group.
Application and selection criteria for the Innovation Fellowship included the submission of an innovation or solution addressing an unresolved problem with clear commercial potential. Dr Smit submitted a novel surfactant technology that he developed with his CRB colleagues. The TTIS had already assisted them to apply for a patent for this technology. With his invention and innovation, Dr Smit will solve a range of problems pertaining to agriculture and renewable energy, among other things.
“This accomplishment underscores the value of our innovation, motivating us to work even harder for its successful development and societal impact. Our innovation has the potential to have a significant positive impact on society. We address critical difficulties in agriculture and renewable energy by using ground breaking surfactant and solar technologies, promoting a greener and more sustainable future. Our mission is to increase crop yields, reduce environmental impact, and promote the global shift towards cleaner energy by enhancing agrochemicals and increasing solar panel efficiency. This fellowship will assist us in amplifying the societal benefits of our innovation,” Dr Smit explains with excitement.
During the six months of the fellowship period, Dr Smit will spend two days per week at the TTIS office to focus on technology transfer activities pertaining to his innovation project. The arrangement will help to cultivate a productive atmosphere of close collaboration with the TTIS team and his mentor outside his usual lab and office environments.
In embracing Dr Frans Smit as the inaugural recipient of the NWU Innovation Fellowship, TTIS embarks on a journey of transformative innovation, where expertise and passion meet to shape a future of solutions that transcend academia and empower society. Discover more: https://services.nwu.ac.za/technology-transfer-and-innovation-support/h….
Dr Frans Smit, recipient of the inaugural NWU Innovation Fellowship.
