A doctorate demonstrates the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge, but it is the postdoctoral years that begin to reveal what a researcher will build from their contribution and how a scholarly identity starts to take clearer form.
This is according to
Prof Hester C. Klopper, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State (UFS), during her keynote address at the Institutional Postdoctoral event. This annual event, hosted by the
Directorate Research Development (DRD) under the theme
Beyond the Lab: Postdocs shaping the future at the University of the Free State, brought together the University’s postdoctoral fellows to showcase the value and impact of postdoctoral research across UFS priority areas.
The purpose of the event was also to position postdoctoral fellows as drivers of innovation and future academic leadership, connect postdoctoral research to societal impact and transformation, and create direct engagement between postdoctoral fellows and senior academic leadership. It also sought to spark interdisciplinary collaboration and mentorship, and to capture postdoctoral voices to inform institutional support and policy.
Prof Bulelwa Nguza-Mduba, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: People and Operations; Prof Ylva Rodney-Gumede, Executive Director: Advancement and Stakeholder Relations; and Dr Temba Hlaso, Executive Director: Student Affairs, Sport, Arts and Culture were among the guests. Other guests included postdoctoral fellows and their supervisors and mentors. During the event, current and former postdoctoral fellows shared their research and talked about the impact of the fellowship on their careers.
Postdoctoral community has become significant
Prof Klopper told the audience that intellectual independence becomes increasingly important during this period (fellowship), as researchers begin to establish their own direction and decide on the body of work they want to develop.
“By developing postdoctoral academia at our institution, we are developing the research leadership that follows. South African evidence shows how significant the postdoctoral community has become.
Prozesky and Van Schalkwyk found that the number of postdoctoral fellows at South African public universities increased from 357 in 2003 to 2 867 in 2019. Between 2007 and 2019, the increase was 366%.”
“At the University of the Free State, 195 postdoctoral fellows currently contribute to more than 10% of the institution’s annual research submission to the Department of Higher Education and Training through their scholarly outputs. Universities derive considerable benefit from the intellectual work of postdoctoral researchers. We are therefore required to consider the researchers’ development while hosting them, to ensure a successful fellowship that better prepares them for the contributions that follow,” she said.
Welcoming guests to the event,
Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, said this event is about recognising postdoctoral fellows not simply as researchers, but as catalysts of discovery, innovation, and future societal change. “Our postdoctoral fellows are essential to the research ecosystem, bringing global perspectives, new methodologies, and fresh intellectual energy to our institution,” he said.
Mandy Jampies, Senior Officer: Postdoctoral Fellow Coordination in DRD, said the event created a platform to recognise and celebrate the contribution of postdoctoral fellows. For fellows, she continued, the event provided an opportunity to share their research, connect, and reflect on their broader impact.
According to Prof Klopper, the University’s strategic direction also places emphasis on creating environments in which emerging scholars can build sustainable research careers. The institution's approach to postdoctoral development reflects research by Kathleen van Benthem and colleagues, who found that opportunities for professional development and encouragement from supervisors were fundamental to postdoctoral satisfaction with their training.
African universities must generate rigorous scholarship grounded in African realities
“Research acquires greater value when it influences clinical practice or informs policy, when it helps communities respond to local challenges, and when it provides the foundation for another scholar to take an idea further,” said Prof Klopper. “
UNESCO Institute for Statistics data shows that in 2023, Europe and North America had approximately 4 358 researchers per million inhabitants, while sub-Saharan Africa had 88 researchers per million inhabitants. Research and development expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa stood at approximately 0,38% of GDP compared with 2,55% in Europe and North America,” she said.
The scale of this disparity places a significant responsibility on African universities to build research capability on this continent that is not reduced to reputation or rankings. Africa needs the capacity to generate knowledge about its own societies and participate in global scholarship with greater intellectual agency.
“Knowledge produced elsewhere will always remain essential to scholarship, because research advances through exchange. Africa’s future, however, cannot depend mainly on knowledge developed in other contexts, and this is why African universities must be able to generate rigorous scholarship grounded in African realities and confidently connect that work to the wider world.”
“I am encouraged that our postdoctoral community is already part of that work, as many fellows from across the continent bring intellectual traditions and scholarly networks into this institution, while researchers based here develop relationships that extend far beyond our campuses. To our postdoctoral fellows, your contributions to the University of the Free State are deeply valued. Your research strengthens this institution, and the scholar you are becoming will shape research communities well beyond your time at the University,” said Prof Klopper.
Prof Reddy concluded by saying postdoctoral fellows embody the University's commitment to excellence, transformation, and knowledge generation. “As we invest in their success, we are simultaneously investing in the future of research leadership.”