Following the strategic meeting between the leadership of University of Pretoria and the SAMRC in May to discuss shared strategies to strengthen collaboration in research and funding, the SAMRC was invited to participate at the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Health Sciences Research Day 2026.

Held under the theme “Impact from Enquiry: Advancing Health for All,” the event offered an important platform to demonstrate that research impact begins not only with the questions researchers ask, but also with the people and systems that enable those questions to be explored.

Professor Ntobeko Ntusi, the SAMRC President and CEO gave the opening address titled “Advancing impact through integrated research entities: from research excellence to health, policy, economic and societal impact.”

This presentation focused on a new paradigm for research: for South Africa to move from excellent research units to integrated research platforms to measurable, health, policy and economic impact. This is important because complex health problems transcend disciplines; translation requires capabilities beyond traditional research; and impact depends on collaboration across the research-to-policy-to-practice continuum. The traditional research model, which is discipline-, research group-, and grant-based, leading to publications, is no longer sufficient. Instead, Professor Ntusi advocates for an integrated model focusing on the problem, involving multiple disciplines, with integrated evidence, and translation to scale and ultimately for impact.

During the engagement, the SAMRC’s Division of Research Capacity Development and the Office of the Vice President participated in an exhibition and shared information about the Council’s research capacity development programmes. These included scholarship and grant opportunities, the extramural research units programme, and pathways for students and emerging researchers to progress within the health research ecosystem.

Students were introduced to the types of support available and were encouraged to consider how these opportunities could support their academic development, research interests and future careers.

Before the University of Pretoria Research Day, SAMRC also participated in the University of Pretoria One Health Symposium on 11 August 2026. At the symposium, Professor Tarylee Reddy, the Unit Director at the Biostatistics Research Uni, spoke about the newly launched STEAM-3D project, which builds infectious disease modelling capacity across Africa.

Engagements like this reflect the SAMRC’s ongoing commitment to nurturing research talent and keeping the country’s health research ecosystem vibrant, inclusive, and equipped to advance health for all.