Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study

06/10/2026

🔔 EVENT INVITATION 🔔

Join us for the launch of the latest book by STIAS Fellow Njabulo S. Ndebele,

🗓️ Tuesday, 13 October 2026

⏰ 17:00 SAST

📍 North Wing, STIAS Wallenberg Research Centre, 10 Marais Road, Stellenbosch

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For 25 years, the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) has cultivated a unique environment where unexpected connections lead to groundbreaking insights.

05/10/2026

Episode 6 🎙️🎥 Out Now.

Iso Lomso Fellow Thando Njovane is in her first residency at STIAS, working on a monograph on Traumatic Intimacies.

In this episode, she takes us into her research on trauma, decolonisation and African literature.

Her project intervenes in debates on decolonising trauma theory, particularly questions of difference on the one hand, and what she calls the artliness of the African literary text, on the other.

Njovane teaches English literature at Rhodes University. She is also a research associate with the tier 1 NRF Chair on Sustainable Rural Futures at the same university.

See the full episode on the STIAS website and YouTube: https://www.stias.ac.za/podcast/

01/10/2026

As part of the institutional engagement trip to Cameroon, the STIAS programme team visited the University of Yaoundé 1, where Iso Lomso Fellow Achille Melingui leads the Robotics and Vision Laboratory and serves as Director of the Centre for Experimentation and Production at the National Advanced School of Engineering.

The Centre advances research and innovation by providing student experimentation opportunities, industry-focused training for innovators, and modelling, prototyping, and post-processing services for manufacturers.

We also visited the National Institute of Cartography, where another Iso Lomso Fellow, Thierry Fotso-Nguemo, leads the Climate Change Research Laboratory (LRCC). His research focuses on using climate models to investigate the impact of anthropogenic global warming on climate variability and extreme weather events, as well as their socio-economic implications.

We were delighted to meet with current and past Fellows based in Cameroon.

30/09/2026

The STIAS programme team has just completed a 5-day institutional engagement trip to Cameroon. The trip included a visit to the University of Ngaoundéré, where Iso Lomso Fellow Philippe Djorwe and his colleagues organised a workshop titled: "A new era of physics to address local needs".

The workshop brought together young African physicists who are committed to working collaboratively to foster and lay the foundations of a new era of low-cost applied physics that addresses local needs.

The gathering gave experienced and early-career researchers a chance to present their work, brainstorm ideas, and build a network of African physicists dedicated to developing sustainable solutions in their communities while promoting science as a driver of development.

Some of the areas of discussion were:
• Neuromorphic computing and engineering for physics research
• AI-assisted cryptography and computer science
• Quantum and classical reservoir computing
• AI-driven research in quantum optics & information
• Quantum chemistry

The workshop was sponsored by the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) through the Iso Lomso Fellowship program in partnership with the University of Ngaoundéré, Cameroon.

17/09/2026

🔔HAPPENING TODAY🔔

Join the on by Brian Fox, now live on YouTube here 👇

15/09/2026

🔔HAPPENING THIS WEEK🔔

Join us for the 5th lecture in the for 2026.
🗓️ Thursday, 17 September 2026
⏰16:00 SAST
📍STIAS Wallenberg Research Centre, 10 Marais Road, Stellenbosch
🔗https://www.stias.ac.za/events/outsmarting-foot-and-mouth-disease-from-gene-to-vaccine/

04/09/2026

🔔 EVENT INVITATION 🔔

Join us for the fifth lecture in the for 2026.

These lectures, presented in person and via livestream, offer the general public, academics, and students, both locally and abroad, an opportunity to engage with the work of STIAS Fellows.

STIAS Fellow Brian Fox will, on Thursday, 17 September, present a lecture titled "Outsmarting foot-and-mouth disease: From gene to vaccine".

🗓️ Thursday, 17 September 2026

⏰ 16:00 SAST

📍 STIAS Wallenberg Research Centre, 10 Marais Road, Stellenbosch

RSVP: https://www.stias.ac.za/events

🎥See more here: https://youtu.be/AOYI_H480mc

Join us for the fifth lecture in the for ...

26/08/2026

Episode 5 🎙️🎥Out Now.

According to the State of South Africa’s Fathers latest report, in 2023, only 35.6% of children lived in the same household as their biological fathers, and 40.3% lived with men who were not their biological fathers but played a fathering role.

In this episode, we are in conversation with Kopano Ratele, a Professor of Psychology at Stellenbosch University and head of the Nhu Space. He is a leading figure in studies on boys, men and masculinities as well as decolonial Africa(n)-centring approaches.

See the full episode on the STIAS website and YouTube: https://www.stias.ac.za/podcast/