UCT, a hub for astronomical research in Africa

It has partnerships with other astronomy groups in South Africa, and through the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme, and with other universities and agencies in Africa, Europe, Australia and North America. Until the SKA is completed, the ten year MeerKAT project offers one of the largest radio telescopes in the world for research.

For the next decade it will remain the most sensitive radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. The completed MeerKAT array will comprise 64 dishes of 13.5m in diameter, and its precursor, KAT-7 with seven dishes, is already functional. Four out of ten key science projects assigned to the MeerKAT array of radio telescopes in the Karoo are already led or co-led by researchers at UCT.

Shortage of radio astronomers

"There is a shortage of good astronomers, in particular radio astronomers in South Africa - especially for the facilities we expect to be built or expanded, which will offer opportunities for recruiting at staff and post-doctorate levels," says Professor Renée Kraan-Korteweg, the head of the Astronomy Department at UCT. "Our goal is to train future leaders in radio astronomy for these kinds of opportunities."

She said other branches of science and technology would also strongly benefit from the parts of SKA that are assigned to South Africa. Instrumentation, computer sciences, programming, mathematics, computer hardware - all these sectors will benefit from having SKA here, while 80% of the engineers at the SA SKA office are South African."

Brain drain has been reversed

Professor Kraan-Korteweg said UCT is becoming a hub for astronomical and astrophysics research in Africa, channeling resources and outreaches to neighbouring countries. "We are training the next generation of astronomers in this country and in Africa. UCT is a partner in research projects involving eight other African countries, with more on the way." UCT has led research outreaches to Mozambique and Ethiopia in the last few years.

She said MeerKAT has already started reversing the brain drain in this region by attracting talented researchers from other parts of the world. MeerKAT and SKA are attracting South African researchers to return after post-grad or post-doctoral study elsewhere.

"With or without SKA, this country offers a very attractive opportunity to researchers. Our telescope technology now combines optical, infrared, radio and gamma, and from 2016 onwards we will have access to a world-class radio facility with MeerKAT," she concluded.