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Northern Cape premier pushes SKA to boost Science skills
· Citizen
Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul has underscored the province’s commitment to maximising the scientific and economic opportunities of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.
This follows his visit to the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) and the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) in Cape Town.
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Digital infrastructure
It gave Saul first‑hand insight into the advanced digital infrastructure that processes astronomy data generated by the SKA‑Mid telescope in Carnarvon.
While the telescope infrastructure is located in the Northern Cape, its vast data output is transmitted via fibre networks to Cape Town, where it is stored, analysed, and used to drive innovation.
The SKA, an international mega‑science project, will be the world’s largest radio telescope and is expected to revolutionise understanding of the universe. It also promises opportunities in engineering, artificial intelligence, data science and digital innovation.
Data
Department of Science, Technology and Innovation Chief Director for Astronomy, Takalani Nemaungani, said that because of the volume of data the SKA telescopes will generate, they must leverage these capabilities to strengthen South Africa’s digital economy in the long run.
SARAO’s SKA Regional Centre Lead, Segopotso Moshapo, added that its mission is to establish South Africa as a global leader in high‑performance engineering and world‑class scientific infrastructure.
“We also have the global role of being the country’s primary vehicle through which South Africa participates and contributes to the international SKA project.”
Astronomy
Professor Roger Deane, Director of the Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy at UCT, highlighted IDIA’s computing infrastructure of 4 000 CPU cores, 30 terabytes of memory and 40 petabytes of storage, as well as its role in training more than 500 postgraduate students.
“We have a human capacity development programme that focuses on data processing and analysis skills… To date, we have supported more than 500 postgraduate students, not only in astronomy but also in fields such as bioinformatics,” he said.
Saul welcomed the strategic investment, noting Carnarvon’s transformation through tourism.
“The Northern Cape is home to both Sol Plaatje University and the SKA project. We therefore have to look at how we leverage the SKA to strengthen SPU capacity,” he said.