The biennial Research & Innovation conference was conceptualised by USAf’s Research and Innovation Strategy Group (RISG) in 2010. The initial event, held from 11-12 March 2010, was themed ‘Strengthening Collaboration between Higher Education, Government and Industry for Research and Innovation’.  Among those who attended this inaugural conference were the Minister of Science and Technology, senior departmental officials, researchers, scholars, higher education and business leadership as well as representatives of advisory and research councils.

Now entrenched in USAf’s calendar, the biennial conference continues to assemble the brightest minds drawn from academics, researchers, policy makers, business and civil society to place research and innovation in the centre of policy-making, national development planning and implementation for a more prosperous South Africa.