SERA e-News

June/July 2008, Vol 5, No 3

UP Water Institute gives birth to a new educational programme for Africa

ACGT Represented on NEPAD SANBio Plant Genetic Resource Task Force

South Africa's first computer spelling game in all 11 languages

UP Water Institute gives birth to a new educational programme for Africa
	The University of Pretoria Water Institute and the Georgia Water Resources Institute launched a new MSc degree in Water Resource Management - jointly offered by the University of Pretoria and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) - at an event on 19 June 2008 in Pretoria.

ACGT Represented on NEPAD SANBio Plant Genetic Resource Task Force
	Members of the African Centre for Gene Technologies (ACGT) have been selected to serve on the NEPAD Southern African Network for Biosciences (SANBio) Task Force on the Enhancement of Capabilities of Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources in Southern Africa.

South Africa's first computer spelling game in all 11 languages
	Researchers at the Meraka Institute of the CSIR have released a spelling game in all 11 official South African languages. The game, OpenSpell, can be adapted for additional languages.

USEFUL LINKS

Opinion piece - G8 must encourage biotech cooperation for Africa

World Health Statistics Report 2008

ENDURE Conference: Diversifying Crop Protection

ASSOCIATED ACTIVITIES

SA public R&D spending 'on-track' - South Africa is well on track to reach its research and development (R&D) spending of 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2008, according to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Mosibudi Mangena. Source: DST

International nano conference to be held in Pretoria - The third NanoAfrica conference will be held on 1 - 4 February 2009 in Pretoria, Gauteng. Two conferences were hosted successfully in 2004 and 2006, respectively, in Cape Town, South Africa. Source: CSIR