Thabo Mohlala
The deadline for submission of papers for IST-Africa 2021, the 16th in an annual series of ministerial-level technology research and innovation conferences, has been extended to 18 December 2020.
The IST-Africa 2021, which will take place virtually from 10 to 14 May 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be hosted by the South African government through the department of science and Innovation (DSI) and supported by the European Commission (EU) and African Union (AU) Commission.
The conference represents a unique community that brings together cross-disciplinary stakeholders from the public, private, education and research, societal, funding and international donor sectors with end-user communities. It focuses on ICT and STI research and innovation and technology-enabled entrepreneurship.
The IST-Africa conference series is held on rotational basis in Africa and provides a world-class platform for strengthening technology-enabled entrepreneurship and science, technology and innovation-related policy dialogues within Africa and between Africa, Europe and the rest of the world.
It also provides an opportunity to identify potential partners for future research co-operation under Horizon Europe and other international funding programmes. To date, IST-Africa 2021 has confirmed support from a number of key partners. These include: the IEEE Africa Council and IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, as well as technical co‑sponsorship from the IEEE South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda sections, the IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society, the IEEE Education Society, and the IEEE UK and Ireland chapters.
The IST-Africa 2021 invites full papers -8 pages in length – to be submitted online for blind peer review by an extended deadline of 18 December 2020. Papers should be submitted using the guidelines and template provided at:
http://www.ist africa.org/Conference2021/default.asp?page=paperguidelines
Participants are advised that only full papers will be assigned for review. Those who require a short extension to finalise their full paper for submission should contact secretariat@ist-africa.org to request this.
Thematic areas addressing the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals include:
- Technology-enabled healthcare (mHealth/eHealth).
- Technology-enhanced learning and eSkills.
- Technology-enabled agriculture (mAgriculture/eAgriculture) and environmental sustainability.
- Energy – ICT for power delivery, micro-grids.
- eInfrastructures and national research and education networks (NRENs).
- Next-generation computing: Big data, cloud computing, future Internet, artificial intelligence, Internet of things.
- eGovernment and public service delivery.
- Content technologies: languages; digital preservation.
- Cybersecurity, privacy and trust.
- Collaborative open innovation and technology-enabled entrepreneurship (including social entrepreneurship).
- Global development (including ICT4D).
- Societal implications of technology, ethics.
For more information, people can download the call for papers using the link below:
http://www.ist-africa.org/Conference2021/files/ISTAfrica2021_CallforPapers.pdf
Papers must present analysis of policy, initial or final research results, or a case study. It is important to highlight actual or expected impact as well as the level of innovation. General project descriptions or descriptions of proposed research will not be reviewed.
Papers must also include a unique element that has not previously been published, and any previously published material (including material previously published by the author/s) must be clearly referenced.
Each presenter can present one paper in the programme. Papers must be presented by an author or co-author, and the author or co-author must answer questions based on the presentation during the event, to ensure inclusion in the proceedings of the conference.
Papers should only be submitted for review where there are authors or co-authors who will complete the registration. Participants should notsubmit multiple papers for which there is only one author who can register.
For more details, click here:
http://www.ist-africa.org/conference2021/default.asp?page=submission