South African research needs to be better coordinated to achieve its potential

South African researchers need to be able to think both long-term and short-term when considering the issues facing the country, Department of Science and Technology (DST) Deputy Director General: Socioeconomic Partnerships Imraan Patel affirmed on Tuesday. He was addressing the DST/Academy of Science of South Africa Stakeholders Awareness Workshop on the 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation, held at the University of Pretoria. He referred to President Cyril Ramaphosa's mention, in his State of the Nation address last month, to a desire to build a new "smart city" in South Africa. He noted that there had been a lot of opposition to this idea, this dream. "We in the science, technology and innovation space are allowed to dream," pointed out Patel, noting that there was potential for the country to "leapfrog" technologically,