COVID-19 ushers in a new era of tech innovation

The onset of the global

Throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been a rapid rise in the adoption and development of new technologies.

From virtual conferencing and online learning, to testing capabilities, data science and contact tracing, the public service is welcoming a new era of innovation that will better prepare South Africa for the digital future.

In the past few months, there has been an unprecedented drive to harness the immense potential of technology. This has proved crucial towards guiding government's actions to combat the virus.

More significantly, it has placed the importance of technological development firmly in the spotlight, highlighting the areas that the public sector needs to pay attention to in order to bolster South Africa's economy in the postCOVID-19 world.

The emergence of COVID-19 has resulted in the public sector, along with other role players in science, medical research, education and community development, quickly developing technology-based response strategies.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is home to the high-tech COVID-19 Information Centre, which offers real-time analytics and dashboards on the pandemic, providing data per province, district, local municipality and ward.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said that this initiative highlights the technological capabilities that are available in South Africa.

“As a nation, we should

be proud that we have an institution like the CSIR, which is always trying to be ahead of the curve in terms of bringing solutions.This is a platform that enables the nation to deal with COVID-19 in a technological and scientific way.

“I am hugely impressed to see how we are able to look at the entire country and see how we can get data about the incidents of coronavirus infection throughout the country, through this facility.”

Another of the many projects to emerge was the Vulnerable Communities Map Project from the University of Pretoria, which identified the communities which could be most severely impacted by the virus.

A host of private tech companies and public entities such as the CSIR collaborated on the project, with input being provided by various public health specialists and officials from the Department of Health.

Projects such as the Vulnerable Communities

Map have allowed government to focus its interventions on high-risk areas.

Similarly, data collection initiatives have been crucial to informing government's response. Dr Vukosi Marivate, ABSA Chair of Data Science at the University of Pretoria, was at the helm of developing a COVID-19 South Africa dashboard which provides detailed information about the pandemic and allows for input from various experts.

Marivate says that accurate data collection is also crucial for the overall functioning of the public service.

“This is why we have many connections with government entities: local, provincial and national. We know that decision makers have to understand how technologies such as artificial intelligence and data science can be used in their scenarios, but they also have to understand how to responsibly handle these technologies as well as the data required to enable them.”

The pandemic has also seen local innovations in testing for COVID-19. The Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation recently made several funding awards to local companies, organisations and researchers that are blazing trails in these areas, in order to ramp up the country's ability to produce locally-developed test kits and reagents.

“South Africa currently sources these reagents from international companies, but increasing global demand, fluctuating exchange rates and limited transport options are affecting the supply – resulting in an urgent need to source these components locally,” said Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande.

The CSIR netted several awards for developing rapid testing innovations. Local company CapeBio Technologies, and the Biopharming Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, also received funding awards.

“These projects brought together various science and innovation resources that existed as a result of investments that the Department of Science made over the past twoand-a-half decades.

“The projects would also make good use of the strengths of the CSIR and several spin-off SMMEs, and showcase the excellence of a number of the country's young black scientists,” said Minister Nzimande.

The pandemic has brought about an increased need to utilise digital platforms for communication, remote working and online learning.

Before the arrival of COVID-19, digital communication platforms such as Zoom were barely being used in the public sector.

Today, these types of platforms have been integral to the continuance of government's functioning. Video conferencing has been

effectively harnessed by government in order to enable dialogue on important issues and facilitate decision-making processes. Private sector companies have also shifted to these technologies to allow employees who can do so to work effectively from home.

The pandemic also brought about a need to develop online learning at schools and universities.

“One thing that COVID-19 has taught us is that we have to support augmented/remote student learning through a variety of teaching and learning methodologies,” said Minister Nzimande.

“Multi-modal teaching, learning and assessment is not an option for universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges any more, it is a necessity. Everyone in post-school education and training, from universities,

TVET and community education and training colleges to skills development programmes must embark on modes of educational delivery that embrace the principles of open learning, as outlined in current policies.”

Government quickly implemented numerous initiatives and partnerships to achieve this aim, from zero-rating websites of tertiary institutions, to providing data to students.

The Department of Higher Education, for example, partnered with telecoms giant MTN to simplify the adoption of remote learning at tertiary institutions. Jacqui O'Sullivan, the Executive of Corporate Affairs at

MTN South Africa, says that the pandemic should provide public servants with some valuable insights into how to enhance digital platforms for the future.

O'Sullivan adds that the pandemic has forced all sectors of society to think outside the box.

“The pandemic has compelled us all to think critically, problem solve, be creative, communicate, collaborate and be more agile. It is revealing that there is ‘another way' of doing things,” she says.