Plugging into the Innovation Hub
24 March 2005
Construction of the R219-million first phase of South Africa's state-of-the-art Innovation Hub is complete, and the massive science and technology park in Pretoria is officially open for business.
A project of Gauteng province's hi-tech industrial promotion agency Blue IQ, the unique complex aims to bring high-tech industry, academia and entrepreneurs together to improve South African technology and productivity.
Taking its benchmark from the best such developments in the world, the creativity-driven centre will house technology-related businesses across a range of disciplines, including electronics, information and communication technology, bio-science, and advanced manufacturing sectors such as defence spin-off and automotive manufacturing.
The complex is located on a 31-hectare tract of land with a total gross floor area of 121 000m² between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the University of Pretoria, two of the country's leading research institutions.
Ready for occupation are the Hub's two core buildings - an 8 000m² multi-tenant Enterprise Building and a 4 500m² Innovation Centre - as well as Sappi's 6 000m² Technology Centre and Paper Academy.
Sappi first in line
The Hub's first anchor tenant, paper giant Sappi, will use its Technology Centre to research the group's fibre production processes - and ultimately to house Sappi's core research and development activities, including fibre processing, biotechnology and environmental impact research.
The Sappi Paper Academy will provide both technical training for Sappi's operations personnel as well as industry-related distance learning.
Sappi's Bertus van der Merwe said the multinational company believed the Innovation Hub would "enable all of the institutions and businesses involved to leverage off the skills of the others and, in so doing, to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts".
The Enterprise Building had seven tenants by March, including Ultimate Sports Nutrition, GiftWrap, Naledi3d Factory and the Expertron Group.
The Innovation centre houses the Innovation Hub Management Company and the Business Incubator, facilities for the CoachLab leadership development programme, as well as auditoria, meeting rooms, a canteen/bistro, and exhibition space and conference facilities.
Techological convergence
Through a number of value-added services, the Hub aims to support innovation-based businesses through their start-up and growth stages, and to create an enabling environment for small and medium-sized technology companies. Services already on offer include:
- The Hub's INNOV8 community, a "knowledge-intensive" networking forum which has grown to over 2 000 members.
- The Know-How Network, a one-stop facility that connects companies with a range of business services and skills.
- Free legal advice on protecting intellectual property from South African law firm Adams & Adams, with whom the Hub has formed a partnership.
"This is the era of technological convergence, and we don't want to limit the vision of the Hub or its partner companies", Comins said. "Across the world, we're seeing cross-disciplinary interaction between people and companies, and we want to promote that here as well.
"We're looking for companies to establish research and development centres, particularly companies doing product and process development", Comins told Engineering News. "These kinds of investments will maximise the interaction between the Hub and the neighbouring institutions", he added, referring to the CSIR and the University of Pretoria.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
