NEWS
New IBM Research
centre gets operational
in Braamfontein
IBM Research opened its second
research location on the African
continent and announced several new
project collaborations in the areas
of data driven healthcare, digital
urban ecosystems and astronomy.
IBM researchers in South Africa with
backgrounds in machine learning,
mathematics, computer science,
robotics, genomics and computational
biology, are exploring the use of
cognitive computing, the Internet of
Things and Big Data to support South
Africa’s national priorities, drive skills
development and foster innovationbased economic growth.
“South Africa is a tremendous
growth and transformation story,
yet its increasing population and
healthcare delivery shortfalls continue
to pose challenges in the country,”
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INTELLIGENTCIO
said Solomon Assefa, Director, IBM
Research Africa. “With the ability to
detect patterns and discover new
correlations, cognitive and cloud
computing and the Internet of Things
can provide potential solutions.”
The lab’s team of scientists is already
collaborating extensively with local
universities, research institutions,
innovation centers, start-ups and
government agencies. This will
help foster South Africa’s emerging
technology ecosystem and develop
and scale new innovations.
As part of a ten-year investment
programme through South Africa’s
Department of Trade and Industry and
working closely with the Department
of Science and Technology, the new
research lab is based at the University
of the Witwatersrand. The University
was recently ranked amongst the
top ten in emerging economies by
the Times Higher Education World
University Rankings.
“The launch of the IBM Research
laboratory is an exciting milestone in
the move towards a new era of globally
competitive research, innovation and
entrepreneurship that will be emerging
out of the Tshimologong Precinct
in Braamfontein. Wits is delighted
to be collaborating with IBM. We
look forward to seeing top talent
congregate to address the continent’s
most intractable problems and work
on the world’s next game changing
technologies,” said Professor Adam
Habib, Vice Chancellor and Principal of
the University of the Witwatersrand.
In support of the World Health
Organisation’s End Tuberculosis
Strategy, IBM scientists are designing
wearable sensor technology
connected to the Watson Internet of
Things to trace the spread of highly
infectious, communicable diseases.
IBM scientists are developing
cognitive learning approaches
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