By Vukosi Mathale

The Technology Transfer and Innovation Support (TTIS) team joined research and innovation professionals from across southern Africa and beyond to participate in the 2026 SARIMA Conference, held at the NH Hotel Sandton in Johannesburg from 8 to 11 September 2026.

The annual conference was organised and hosted by the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) under the theme “Resilient futures: reimagining research and innovation management for impact and inclusion”. The conference brought together professionals and academics to exchange knowledge, share experiences and discuss approaches to research and innovation management.

For the TTIS team, the conference was an opportunity to engage with peers, broaden professional networks and gain perspectives that contribute to the continued development of research, innovation and technology transfer support at the North-West University (NWU).

The team participated in plenary sessions, presentations and networking sessions throughout the conference. Four members of the TTIS team also contributed to the programme through poster and oral presentations.

Mari Berner presented a poster titled “Strengthening IP management: from data to decision-making through integrated dashboards”, highlighting how integrated dashboards can support the management of intellectual property and help inform decision-making.

Ntombiyenkosi Nkosi presented a poster titled “Making innovation visible: practical lessons from a university technology transfer office”, sharing practical lessons on how a university TTO can improve the visibility of innovation activities and opportunities.

Yolandé Bullock also represented the TTIS team with an oral presentation titled “An integrated innovation management framework to strengthen industry-relevant research and intellectual property generation in universities”, examining how an integrated approach to innovation management can strengthen links between university research, industry relevance and intellectual property generation.

Dr Janine Chantson, chief director of TTIS, presented “No patent? no problem: real-world impact pathways for SHAPE-research”, highlighting SHAPE projects at the NWU to show how research in the social sciences, humanities and arts can find pathways to impact beyond traditional technology-transfer models.

The participation of the team provided an opportunity to showcase the work of the NWU while engaging with fellow professionals working to advance research and innovation.

As research and innovation continue to play an increasingly important role in addressing societal and economic challenges, platforms such as SARIMA provide opportunities for professionals to learn from one another, build partnerships and share practices.

The 2026 SARIMA Conference offered the TTIS team an opportunity to connect with colleagues, share its work at the NWU and contribute to discussions on research, innovation and technology transfer across Africa and beyond.
 

Back: Dr Mesuli Mbanjwa, Teresiah Malaji and Mari Berner.

Front: Ntombiyenkosi Nkosi, Dr Janine Chantson, Yolandé Bullock, Ntiyiso Shabangu.