The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory Project has been managing a human capital development programme since 2005, and to date the programme has provided nearly 1168 undergraduate and postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, university academics, as well to students studying to be technicians and artisans.

Every year, since 2006, the project has hosted a conference for the SARAO-supported postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students.

The conference aims to bring together the postdoctoral fellows, postgraduate students, supervisors, radio astronomy scientists and engineers in Africa, and from elsewhere in the world, to network with each other and develop an interactive community around MeerKAT, the SKA in Africa, and other radio astronomy initiatives.

In addition, the conference provides an opportunity for the postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows to share their research with the community, and with each other, and to provide them with important experience in presenting their work.

The conference has also been instrumental in demonstrating to the rest of the world Africa’s competence in radio astronomy research, and every year new international collaborations and partnerships are formed as a result, and new international researchers are motivated to come and work in Africa, either as visiting professors, or as full-time academics and Research Chairs.

Please note: Attendance at the conference is by invitation only.

Note:

• It is compulsory for all SARAO SA-funded Doctoral and Masters students to attend the conference.
• SARAO only invites SARAO SA-funded third year / fourth year and honours students who achieved two or more distinctions in their 2019 mid-year exams.