Research Capacity Building as a Prerequisite for the Competitiveness of a National System of Innovation

The first UMass Amherst INFORMS Speaker Seminar of the Spring 2010 semester is this Friday, February 19, 2010! Please join us, if you can.

As the Faculty Advisor to this award-winning student chapter and its Speaker Series, I, and the chapter, are delighted to have Professor Mzamo P. Mangaliso, of the Department of Management, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, as our first speaker of 2010!

Professor Mangaliso will speak on: Research Capacity Building as a Prerequisite for the Competitiveness of a National System of Innovation: Perspectives from the National Research Foundation.

Dr. Mangaliso is an Associate Professor of Management at the Isenberg School of Management, where he is a former Director of MBA Programs. His research interests focus on corporate strategy, decision-making under uncertainty, and international and comparative management. His service contributions consist of organizing and presiding over management conferences around the world; refereeing articles for international management journals and conferences, serving on editorial boards of a number of journals, and as special issues editor. He has also served on the boards of international bodies such as the Luxembourg, Austria-based International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA), and as a member of the Kyoto-based Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum. His numerous scholarly outputs have appeared in refereed journals, conference proceedings, and as book chapters.

He has authored two books: A co-edited volume, Prophesies and Protests [Amsterdam: Rosenberg Publishers 2007], and Strategic Choice Under Uncertainty [Lanham, MD: UPA / Rowman & Littlefield, 2009]. Over the years, he has received numerous accolades. At UMass these include being selected as a Lilly Teaching Fellow and, subsequently, as a TEACHnology Fellow, and winning the 1999 Distinguished Teaching Award. Nationally, he is a Fellow and past President of the Eastern Division of the Academy of Management.

Professor Mangaliso was inducted into the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) in 2008. From 2006 to 2008 he was the President and CEO of National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa.

Professor Mangaliso holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Physics (University of Fort Hare, SA), an MBA (Cornell University), and a Ph.D. in Strategic Management (University of Massachusetts).

PRESENTATION TITLE: Research Capacity Building as a Prerequisite for the Competitiveness of a National System of Innovation: Perspectives from the National Research Foundation

Abstract: This paper is predicated on the proposition that investment in research capacity building is directly related to the economic performance of any National System of Innovation, and hence to the creation of prosperity and wealth of a given nation. The paper is largely based on the observations and experiences derived from the years of my presidency of the National Research Foundation. Since the onset of democracy in 1994, South Africa has embarked upon a course of simultaneously restoring the competitiveness of its National System of Innovation while, at the same time, attending to issues of racial/gender equity and social justice. The new government created the NRF as an agency to support and promote research at all South African Higher Education Institutions. The support comes in the form of funding, human resource development, and the provision of national research facilities. The ultimate goal was to contribute to the economic prosperity and well-being of all South Africans. The paper
discusses some of the key programs that were put in place, outlines the progress made towards them, discusses some of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and concludes by suggesting lessons that can be learned from the South African experience.


Date: Friday, February 19, 2010
Time: 11:00AM - Noon
Place: Room Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, Room 112

The announcement for this talk can be found at:
http://supernet.som.umass.edu/informs/speakernew.html

The UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter website:
http://student.som.umass.edu/informs/