CERN-South Africa Knowledge Transfer Programme
The UCT eResearch Centre is a successful recipient of the SA-CERN Programme, a technology and knowledge transfer programme that provides South African researchers, students, engineers and technicians with an opportunity to participate in the world's premier and largest international research facility at CERN.
This marks a step forward in advancing local research infrastructure and open science practices. This initiative, funded by the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), seeks to harness CERN’s vast research expertise and cutting-edge technologies to address challenges across diverse scientific fields in South Africa.
The SA-CERN Programme builds bridges between the global research environment at CERN and South African institutions, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and technology that can have meaningful societal impact. Beyond UCT eResearch, the Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) is also a key participant, highlighting the programme’s multidisciplinary scope. Previous projects emanating from this collaboration include the application of machine learning techniques to critical issues affecting South Africa, demonstrating the tangible benefits that large-scale data science partnerships can bring to pressing national challenges.
UCT eResearch plays a pivotal role at the university by championing advanced digital research infrastructure and supporting researchers through the development and implementation of innovative technologies and strategies that enhance data management, sharing, reuse, and broader research capabilities.
A cornerstone of this collaboration is the piloting of InvenioRDM, an open-source research data management platform developed by CERN. InvenioRDM emphasises openness and interoperability, allowing data to be freely accessible and reusable across disciplines and borders. This ties directly to CERN’s broader Open Science ethos, which promotes transparency, collaboration, and inclusivity in scientific research. UCT eResearch’s focus on deploying a test repository using InvenioRDM complements Zenodo’s mission by bringing these open science tools closer to South African researchers, thus enhancing local infrastructure and capabilities.
The team at CERN driving these efforts is led by Nicola Tarocco, who oversees the development and operational management of both Zenodo and InvenioRDM. Their expertise has been instrumental in adapting these platforms to meet diverse scientific community needs, making them accessible beyond CERN’s immediate user base. The collaboration between UCT’s eResearch team and the CERN developers has included in-depth meetings and hands-on sessions, allowing the South African team to build direct experience with state-of-the-art tools that promote open data and responsible research data management.
Nicola Tarocco (left), InvenioRDM product manager and CERN's institutional repository service manager, discusses the project with UCT eResearch Director Prof Mattia Vaccari (right).
The initiative is connected to the Open Science Fair 2025, where the UCT eResearch team will visit CERN prior to meeting with the team of developers. CERN’s commitment to Open Science shines not only through its technology but also in its ethos, actively supporting diverse communities worldwide to make their research outputs accessible and reusable.
UCT eResearch’s successful application to the SA-CERN Programme represents a strategic move to embed international best practices in research data management within South Africa’s higher education landscape. By installing and piloting a repository based on CERN’s open source infrastructure, we hope to empower local researchers with new tools to better manage and share their data. This collaboration with CERN’s expert team exemplifies the global impact of knowledge exchange and highlights how South African research benefits from integration with world-class research ecosystems.
The impact of this programme extends beyond infrastructure. It serves as a catalyst for adopting open science principles that foster transparency, collaboration, and innovation in research, supporting South Africa’s position within the global scientific community. The partnership between UCT eResearch and CERN not only strengthens the technical foundation for research management but also helps cultivate an open scientific culture where data and knowledge flow freely across borders to address complex challenges.