This data was collected from participant observation in meetings with IBM, Wits researchers and CSIR Meraka staff held at the CSIR in mid-‐‑2012, several meetings held at Wits in 2012 and 2013, a meeting with IBM and the Department of Trade and Industry at IBM offices in Sandton in 2013, and a small group interview conducted in 2014.
IBM and the JCSE had a common interest in ICT sector capacity building. IBM’s intention was to make a ZAR100 million investment in ICT sector capacity building. Meetings and discussions took place between Wits and IBM towards establishing three-‐‑year multi-‐‑disciplinary undergraduate engineering and ICT programme and a postgraduate Skills Development and Research Institute (SDRI). In February 2013, a meeting with the dti was hosted at IBM premises in Sandton, with presentations aimed at winning government support (participant observation incident 10, 2014). A long silence followed the presentation day, during which the IBM project champion left the company. The initiative
continued in a state of go-‐‑don’t go! The next steps were not yet clear, including whether Wits (JCSE) was the preferred partner institution.
6.2.4 Digital technology hub development 1: Tech-‐‑in-‐‑Braam software development cluster 2012-‐‑2013
This data is drawn from participant observation from selected Tuesday afternoon meetings of the Tech-‐‑in-‐‑Braam cluster (16h00-‐‑18h00) in late 2012 and a
presentation to the partnerships workshop held at Wits on 16 April 2013.
Participants in the Tech-‐‑in-‐‑Braam15 digital technology cluster had a broad set of interests and objectives beyond designing software applications (coded as values: conscious co-‐‑creation of 21st century knowledge). Goals of the participating
organisations (including ThoughtWorks, Microsoft, Crunchyard, gaming
software expert and others) focus on increasing the number of digital technology practitioners, creating jobs for digital technology professionals and promoting digital technology businesses (participant observation incidents 8, 2012; website review, Tech-‐‑in-‐‑Braam, n.d.). The main challenge was to draw software
companies from their traditional locations in the upper price end locations, to Braamfontein to co-‐‑locate with the JCSE’s digital development capacity building and research programmes. This was an unusual challenge, as there has been little history of geographical co-‐‑location of industry programmes with universities in South Africa (coded as institutional attractiveness).
The presentation to the April 2013 partnerships workshop made the case for Braamfontein to be Africa’s software cluster as follows: Gauteng province contributed 40% to South Africa’s GDP (actually closer to 35%), most of this contribution to GDP being generated within a 10km radius with Braamfontein close to the centre of that circle. The flight of capital from the central business district of Johannesburg was not complete and was reversing, with major
corporations, government and trade unions still focused in the centre of
Johannesburg. All these sectors required software and digital content, thus being potential customers for the software applications (apps) development sector.
The University of Johannesburg and Wits would provide an attractive university for young, mobile, creative people from across Africa seeking to enter the
software development sector, drawn to the mobile city and surrounds, supported by 21st century transport infrastructure such as the urban connectors Gautrain and the Rea Vaya bus rapid transport system. At this workshop the plan was advanced to establish a software innovation precinct for meetings and events; skills development; innovation and new tech start-‐‑ups; less formal spaces for generating content at no charge; and more formal curated, rented, co-‐‑working spaces; Microsoft App Factory; skills programme for the banking sector; hi-‐‑ maturity software development unit; games and digital content hub with the Wits Digital Arts programme; short courses and night schools; schools programme for Grade 9 kids; CoachLab skills development and leadership programme for postgraduate students from UJ and Wits; and to place anchor tenants engaged in technology pre-‐‑incubation and incubation in the digital technology hub. The plan unfolded to repurpose dilapidated buildings in Braamfontein to establish Tshimologong Precinct, to introduce municipal broadband to the kerb and to attract ‘150’ software companies and associated service companies to foster a Braamfontein software innovation cluster.
One of the responses to the presentation commented that the ideas reflected on the university as urban development agency (participant observation incident 11, 2013), and a discussion ensued among participants about university investment parallel to local government’s city regeneration strategy. Thus the accumulated resources and investments of the city, local business and the university were seen to come together as the foundation for attracting firms to participate in a software
innovation cluster (coded as future value). The software innovation cluster has been active since 2014.
6.3 Co-‐‑evolution of scientific knowledge production with location
6.3.1 Digital technology hub development 2: Tshimologong Precinct, Braamfontein 2013-‐‑2014: Between university and city
This data was collected from generalised participant observation in several meetings during the course of 2013 and 2014, from participant observation and review of the presentations at the Founder’s Event held at the iClub at
Tshimologong Precinct on 31 October 2013, as well as from semi-‐‑structured interviews.
The process towards creating a “place of new beginnings16”, a “set of spaces” including collaborative working (co-‐‑working) spaces commenced in mid-‐‑2013, with approvals required from Wits to upgrade the facilities for habitation of the first set of buildings in the new precinct. Despite difficulty in confirming budget and plans for the initial rehabilitation phase, events and public seminars were held in the gutted nightclub (Tshimologong precinct introduction evening 2012; Founders’ Event 31 October 2013; music concerts; Internet Society Gauteng meeting; and public seminar on the ICT Green Paper, 2014). These events influenced budget availability and the first buildings were occupied in January 2014, providing space for approximately 20 young developers of the Microsoft App Factory, and meeting rooms for formal meetings and Saturday postgraduate research seminars (coded as academic value).
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