The African Laser Centre initiative at the CSIR is calling for South African and African researchers with active collaborations in lasers and laser-related applications needing financial support for knowledge exchange visits for their students in the 2025 academic year. The aim is to facilitate targeted knowledge and technology transfer needs.  

The Knowledge Exchange Programme (KEP) is one of four research support programmes managed by the CSIR on behalf of the African Laser Centre initiative (ALC) – an open, non-exclusive partnership to stimulate innovation, research and technology development in lasers and the applications thereof, across Africa. Aimed at local, continental and global partnerships, the ALC is a flagship programme under the United Nations’ New Partnership for Africa's Development and is funded by the Department of Science and Innovation. 

The ALC KEP supports the mobility of doctoral and master’s degree students on short-term exchange visits between South African research institutions and African counterparts to encourage the development of centres of expertise in photonics-related disciplines across the continent. Researchers and students are funded to visit a collaborator’s laboratory, access specialised equipment, share and gain knowledge and develop new capabilities and competencies in their home research groups across Africa.  

The programme is strictly focused on targeted knowledge transfer or exchange – not broad research – and such general collaborations will not be supported. Research programmes of this kind are supported under a separate ALC Research Collaboration Programme.  

For enquiries, please contact NLCRentalPool@csir.co.za and tiduplooy@csir.co.za.  

The ALC receives funding from the Department of Science and Innovation and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, South Africa

The application must be submitted by both the applicant institution as well as the host institution.

Please find attached the following:

1. Call announcement for the 2025 ALC Knowledge Exchange Program.

2. Application form for support under the ALC Knowledge Exchange Program in 2025.

Please note that the call closes on Friday, 18 October 2024. No late submissions will be considered.

Funding allocations will be made subject to funding support received from the DSI.

All submissions must be made electronically to nlcrentalpool@csir.co.za AND tiduplooy@csir.co.za

Good luck with your submissions

Hardus Greyling

CSIR Photonics Centre

CSIR Manufacturing Cluster
PO Box 395
Pretoria
0001

Tel +27 12 841 2713

https://www.csir.co.za/future-production-manufacturing
hgreyling@csir.co.za

Best regards,

Thomas