SKA telescope boosts SA’s knowledge economy

We’re living in a time when data and knowledge have become key resources for economic development.

Developed economies have recognised this and have increasingly embraced knowledge creation as a way to secure their competitive advantage.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project will contribute to the creation of a robust knowledge economy in SA, having already borne fruit for the country. It has led to good collaboration, sharing of skills and substantial growth of the local astronomy community.

Firstly, a project like this needs to be supported by sound institutions if it’s to contribute to the long-term, sustainable growth of a knowledge economy.

There must be stable and consistent funding and policies at government level. And a country’s broader institutional environment needs to be open and inclu- sive. This all encourages diverse participation and creative crossover of ideas.

SKA South Africa has benefited from stable and consistent policies and funding. But, given that SKA SA is publicly funded, policies can sometimes be cumbersome. This can slow things down.

Interrelationships are also crucial. Collaboration and knowledge sharing are extremely important, especially in a field like astronomy. So the cultivation of stronger interrelationships boosts the promotion of knowledge economies.

These interrelationships need to be fostered across multiple disciplines and sectors, as well as across international boundaries. The SKA in South Africa is doing well on this front.

Its collaboration with industry partners that range from small, medium and micro-sized enterprises to multinationals has helped the spread of scientific and operational expertise among other sectors.

For instance, teachers from the towns closest to the SKA site have received training in robotics through the project.

Data collected by the SKA array in a single day would take nearly two million years to play back on an iPod. Processing and analysing such astronomical data sets requires both cutting edge technology and collaboration with a diverse set of stakeholders.

More fundamentally, the different stakeholders are working together to develop technologies that have not yet been invented.

The third factor, innovation, presents an opportunity for developing economies to close the gap with developed economies. But this is only true if ways can be found to commercialise some of the initiatives that emerge.

SKA’s South African arm is taking part in numerous collaborations across sectors that promote knowledge sharing and joint problem solving.

Its commercialisation strategy is essential for the project to have a great impact on the knowledge economy.

Finally, individuals matter. A project like the SKA must be able to attract, retain and train skilled individuals to establish a viable knowledge economy. Here SKA South Africa has been exemplary.

It has done substantial work to grow South Africa’s astronomy community through a special human capital development programme that’s aimed at training young people. More than 1000 young people have benefited from this and similar SKA programmes, and those who’ve been trained are not limited to careers in astronomy: they contribute to the knowledge economy by using their skills in other sectors.