Four academics from the University of the Free State (UFS) have been named finalists in the prestigious 2025/2026 NSTF-South32 Awards, widely regarded as the ‘Science Oscars of South Africa’.

Presented annually by the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF), the awards recognise outstanding contributions to science, engineering, technology, and innovation in South Africa. According to the NSTF, finalists are nominees who have made significant outstanding contributions in their respective fields and are considered eligible for the awards.

Winners will be announced at the NSTF Awards Gala Event on 16 July 2026.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, congratulated the UFS finalists: “Our finalists exemplify how transdisciplinary collaboration – from farms to digital futures – translates knowledge into tangible societal impact. Whether through climate-smart agriculture or science diplomacy, UFS research is advancing solutions that are locally rooted and globally relevant. Bridging the gap between knowledge and practice is central to our mission of creating responsible societal futures.”

Prof Johan van Niekerk recognised for advancing climate-smart agriculture

Prof Johan van Niekerk, Professor, South Campus Coordinator, Vice-Dean: Agriculture, and Head of the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, is a finalist in the NSTF-Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Award category.

His nomination recognises his leadership in climate-smart impact assessment through a ‘living laboratory’ approach and his key role in establishing the UFS veterinary training centre and accredited BVSc programme.

According to Prof Van Niekerk, a cornerstone of his work has been the establishment of the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development and the development of pioneering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in sustainable agriculture and food systems. He also highlighted the living laboratory concept, which transforms farms, communities, and agricultural enterprises into real-world learning and innovation environments.

“The living laboratory philosophy has shown that the most impactful research often emerges when scientists, farmers, communities, industry, and government work together to solve real-world challenges,” he said.

Prof Van Niekerk also coordinates seven ARC–DoA–UFS Research Chairs focusing on climate-smart agriculture, climate resilience, sustainable livestock systems, agro-processing, agricultural risk financing, impact assessment, and communication for innovation. He said these initiatives contribute to strengthening South Africa’s capacity to respond to climate change while improving agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Prof Jan Willem Swanepoel recognised for advancing science diplomacy in Africa

Prof Jan Willem Swanepoel, Associate Professor in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, and Project Coordinator of TAGDev 2.0 at the UFS, is a finalist in the Science Diplomacy for Africa Award category.

His nomination recognises his contribution to transforming livelihoods and changing systems through livestock value chain development, entrepreneurship, and curriculum innovation, helping to shape agricultural development and resilience across Africa.

Prof Swanepoel said the nomination is rooted primarily in his work as Project Coordinator of the TAGDev 2.0 programme, a RUFORUM and Mastercard Foundation initiative implemented through a network of African universities. The programme seeks to transform agricultural higher education by building partnerships between universities, governments, industry, and communities to address food security and rural development challenges.

“The essence of this project is science diplomacy in practice: it builds partnerships between universities, governments, and communities across the continent to transform agricultural higher education so that it produces graduates and innovations that respond directly to Africa’s food security and rural development challenges,” he said.

According to Prof Swanepoel, the programme promotes collaboration between universities, commodity organisations, government, and industry, while encouraging entrepreneurial thinking and innovation in agricultural curricula. It also focuses on sustainability, inclusivity, and safeguarding to ensure that the benefits of the programme endure beyond its funding cycle.

Reflecting on the recognition, Prof Swanepoel said: “More than a personal accolade, I see it as encouragement to keep building the kind of cross-border, community-anchored collaboration that the award celebrates.”

Prof Hlamalani Ngwenya recognised for transforming practice into scientific evidence

Prof Hlamalani Ngwenya, Research Chair: Communication for Innovation at the UFS, is a finalist in the NSTF-South32 Communication Award category.

Her nomination recognises the development of the ‘wearing scientific goggles’ (WSG) approach, enabling practitioners to transform everyday practice into scientific evidence.

Prof Ngwenya explained that the approach emerged from a concern about the persistent divide between formal academic knowledge production and the realities of implementation practice. Developed through the Research Chair in Communication for Innovation, the approach seeks to reposition practitioners, policymakers, facilitators, extension professionals, and development actors as contributors to scientific knowledge.

“Through wearing scientific goggles, we seek to bridge this epistemic gap by repositioning practitioners not merely as recipients of research, but as active producers of scientific insight and evidence and advancing the science of delivery,” she said.

According to Prof Ngwenya, the approach helps to unlock tacit knowledge and collective intelligence that often remain undocumented within conventional scientific systems. By encouraging practitioners to recognise the value of the knowledge generated through their daily work, the model contributes to more accessible, participatory, and inclusive knowledge systems.

“Most importantly, the recognition strengthens our commitment to continue building bridges between academia and practice, while creating pathways for more people to participate meaningfully in science, innovation, and societal transformation,” she said.

Dr Herkulaas Combrink recognised for advancing South African Sign Language technologies

Dr Herkulaas Combrink, Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures and Senior Lecturer in Economics and Management Sciences at the UFS, is a finalist in the NSTF-SADiLaR Research Software: Human Language Technologies category.

His nomination recognises the development of the SignBank, code, and curation of the LebitsoApp, a research software platform for large-scale South African Sign Language human language technology development, using computational infodemiology, data science, and a variety of GitHub pages that collectively analyse, structure, and model parts of signed languages in digital information ecosystems.

According to Dr Combrink, the application brings together a range of resources, data, and research activities into a single platform and is the result of extensive collaboration across disciplines and teams.

“The app is a collection of various resources and research activities consolidated into one application. It is difficult to carry this flag alone, which is why collaboration and team effort drove this process,” he said.

Dr Combrink said the recognition reflects advances in human language technologies, particularly those aimed at supporting Deaf communities and enabling greater participation in technology development.

“Ultimately, we want the Deaf communities to design and build technologies using data that were curated from the communities themselves,” he said.

The recognition of these four UFS academics as finalists in the 2025/2026 NSTF-South32 Awards highlights the university’s contribution to research, innovation, and societal impact. Their work demonstrates how UFS researchers are addressing challenges in agriculture, education, communication, and technology while contributing to knowledge creation and development in South Africa and across the African continent.