A South African university has opened the country’s first school for climate change studies.

Located at the Stellenbosch University (SU), the school is dedicated to supporting the nation’s transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy. It will facilitate research, curricula development and post-grad training, and offer consultancy and technology transfer in multiple fields of climate studies. The school will also enable networking between researchers at SU and other universities, institutions and organisations in South Africa as well as internationally.

Core studies will include the use of specialised equipment, software and facilities to create platforms for data-intensive research and innovation; research projects involving monitoring, impacts and adaptation, providing climate expertise to industry and public and private organisations; and contributing to the development and application of climate-related technologies that address diversity, inclusivity, poverty alleviation and job creation.

According to Buti Manamela, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, ‘direct benefits of this focused approach are the potential for new knowledge generation, the development of a new generation of well-trained climate scientists and students, as well as increased research outputs, including scientific evidence to support policy development, planning and general decision making’.

10 August 2021
Image: Gallo/Getty Images