UJ launches unique institute for advanced study

The University of Johannesburg is to launch what it believes will be one of the world’s most unique institutes for advanced study on Thursday.

A partnership with Nanyang Technological University (NTU)‚ Singapore‚ the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS) will be the first fully-fledged institute of advanced study in South Africa’s political and economic heartland‚ the university said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said the Institute‚ to be launched under the theme “The Next Twenty-Five Years”‚ will bring together the “foremost researchers; intellectual leaders and key experts‚ both from Asia and Africa‚ to develop and find innovative and workable solutions to unite African and Asian thought and research”.

 “The university is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a placement among the top 4% in the prestigious QS World University Rankings for 2014/2015. Being an institution that prides itself in its accessible excellence‚ UJ has established itself as an institution of global excellence and world-class stature.

Excellence and stature have led to much more substantial conversation about the desired future for UJ‚ and the establishment of the JIAS not only highlights the university’s drive to become an international university with the vision to become the Pan-African epicentre of critical and intellectual inquiry‚ but also presents a unique opportunity for serious conversation on the way we understand the world and how we relate to it‚” commented Professor Peter Vale‚ director of the new institute.