The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, is now the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation.
This is as a result of splitting of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation into the Ministry of Higher Education and Training and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation under the 7th administration.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande, said he welcomes the renaming of the Department, as proclaimed in Government Gazette No. 51283 on 27 September 2024.
“The Department’s name has undergone several changes in the past years. In 2021, government renamed what was then the Department of Science and Technology, making it the “Department of Science and Innovation”. This was to put greater emphasis on the need for the Department to drive innovation through its work.”
The most recent name incorporates all the elements of the Department’s mandate to lead enhanced productivity, economic growth and societal development through science, technology and innovation (STI).
“Putting “technology” back into the name is an acknowledgement of the role that technological advancements play in driving scientific progress, economic growth and societal development,” said the Minister.
The Department retains its strategic priorities, which include climate change and environmental sustainability, human resource development, addressing poverty and inequality.