The Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS), launched in 2015, is a collaborative initiative involving the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.[1]
Established on 14 May 2015, JIAS deviates from conventional educational and research routines, focusing instead on promoting cooperative and concentrated scholarly pursuits within the Humanities and Natural Sciences.[2] [3] [4]
JIAS also collaborates with other tertiary institutions nationwide.[3]
JIAS operates from a residential facility situated in the outskirts of Johannesburg. The inaugural meeting of JIAS, co-chaired by UJ's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ihron Rensburg, and NTU's President, Professor Bertil Andersson, coincided with the institute's launch day.[5] Attendees included Professor K. K. Phua, director of the NTU Institute for Advanced Study, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Postgraduate Studies & Library) and later Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UJ, Dr Yu-Hyun Park from NTU's President's Office, and Professor Peter Vale, Director of JIAS.
Since 2019, Dr Bongani Ngqulunga has served as the director of JIAS.[6]
JIAS funds Writing Fellowships, recipients of which have been drawn from different disciplines: academics, novelists, scientists, poets, playwrights, independent researchers and journalists.[7] [8] JIAS is host to the annual Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers, inaugurated in February 2023 by Barbara Masekela.[9] [10]