Building Africa’s ‘Bifrost’: Connecting science to real-world impact

In the Marvel Universe, the Bifrost in Asgard is the bridge that connects worlds.

For Dr Siva Danaviah, head of programme for Applied Sciences at private tertiary institution Eduvos, it is also a useful way to think about the future of science in Africa.

Applied scientists, she says, are bridge-builders: the people who take knowledge out of laboratories and journals and carry it into the real world, where it can impact and change lives, across many disciplines.

While South Africa is making a concerted effort to prioritise education, the impact is not flowing as seamlessly as it could into the real-world challenges the country is facing.

Consuming vs producing knowledge

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Education GPS for South Africa, education accounts for 6.9% of GDP, well above the average it has recorded of 4.7%.

Only 15% of graduates are in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, compared to an OECD average of 23%. Only 1% of young adults hold a master’s degree (far below OECD benchmarks of 16%), and this figure has not really shifted in recent years.

At the same time, a significant portion of young South Africans still exit the system before completing the latter part of their secondary education.

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Blade Nzimande stated at the launch of the 2025 Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators report at the CSIR Convention Centre that the country is still “consuming knowledge, but not producing enough of its own”.

The bridge

Back to our Marvel metaphor: South Africa has the potential of a thriving Asgard, and we need a stronger Bifrost.

For Danaviah, applied science is precisely that bridge: taking discovery and translating it into diagnostics, treatments, systems and solutions that work in context.

For real impact, the required science cannot simply be imported from elsewhere in the world.

“Africa has its own infrastructure, its own disease burden, its own realities. We therefore need to innovate in Africa, for Africa.”

This is particularly evident in healthcare, she states.

South Africa’s experience with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV has created deep, practical expertise in containment, treatment and systems management.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, says Danaviah, this experience proved invaluable, even as parts of the Global North struggled to respond.

It was also evident in vaccine development. Long seen as dependent on external supply, the continent is increasingly demonstrating that it has both the intellectual capital and the capability to produce complex solutions locally.

Global race, African edge

Scientific publication Nature’s Applied Sciences Index places China firmly in first position, stating that the country accounts for 56% of global applied science output, with its research institutions occupying every single one of the highest global rankings.

The United States trails at around 10% of output, with other countries following at a distance.

The implications are clear – applied science is fast becoming a strategic economic lever.

Africa’s opportunity might perhaps lie in solving the challenges differently, rather than trying to compete on volume.

Across the continent, applied science is starting to emerge in unexpected but highly relevant ways.

As Danaviah notes, mobile-based health tracking using platforms such as WhatsApp is reshaping patient management in low-resource settings.

Research into water sustainability is now recognised not only for its environmental benefit, but as a critical health intervention. Innovations in prosthetics, bioinformatics and AI are opening new pathways for care and access.

These innovations are often driven by necessity. “Need inspires innovation,” says Danaviah.

Solutions developed in the African context, where constraints are real and immediate, definitely have the potential to scale globally.

Into all realms

Applied science does not operate only in a single domain. It functions across multiple disciplines and sectors: from healthcare and water systems to artificial intelligence, policy, ethics and entrepreneurship.

This interdisciplinary approach is reflected in how institutions are training the next generation of scientists.

At Eduvos, the Faculty of Applied Sciences now spans three campuses and has more than 1 500 students enrolled, with plans to expand into honours, master’s and doctoral programmes.

The focus is on both theory and application.

Students are exposed to practical lab work, industry environments and cross-disciplinary modules, from forensic science to the economics of healthcare.

Importantly, Eduvos is actively breaking down the perceived divide between science and commercialisation.

Through initiatives such as its annual BioVerse (see the nod to the Marvel Universe?) competition, students are encouraged to take their ideas beyond the lab and into real-world application, including viable business and commercial pathways.

Because, as Danaviah emphasises, commercialisation is not a ‘bad’ word. It is the mechanism through which science reaches society.

Constraints, or opportunities?

South Africa’s innovation system faces certain structural constraints.

As highlighted in the 2025 Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators report, the country produced more than 225 000 graduates in 2022, for example, but only 29% were in STEM fields.

Postgraduate capacity remains limited, and the academic workforce is under pressure, with supervisory demands outpacing staff number growth.

Funding remains a challenge as well. The report shows that gross expenditure on research and development has declined as a share of GDP, moving further away from national targets.

Business investment in R&D has weakened over time, and patent output has dropped, signalling a slowdown in the creation of protectable intellectual property.

For Danaviah, these are mindset challenges.

“We need to be thinking longer term,” she says, adding that funding needs to flow into areas that are not necessarily the current popular streams.

This includes breaking down traditional divides between public and private institutions, strengthening partnerships, and reframing how academia views commercialisation.

SA can be a Thor … or a Loki

Every bridge needs a gatekeeper. As applied science expands into areas such as AI-driven diagnostics, big data and biotechnology, the ethical dimension becomes increasingly important.

At Eduvos, says Danaviah, ethics is embedded into the curriculum from an early stage.

This ensures that students understand both the power and the responsibility that comes with scientific innovation.

“Innovation must have boundaries,” Danaviah says. “Otherwise, we risk doing harm without even realising it.”

In less careful hands, even the best intentions can, if we revert to our Asgardian metaphor, start to look less like Thor and more like Loki.

Africa does not lack knowledge, creativity, or urgency.

What it needs is stronger bridges: more applied scientists who can move between worlds, translating insight into impact, and doing so responsibly.

Ultimately, the future of science will be defined by what the scientists are able to carry across the Bifrost and into the lives of the people who need it most.

Brought to you by Eduvos. 

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