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Ben Durham is Director of Biotechnology at the National
Department of Science and Technology (DST) and has represented the
Department at a number of ACGT Advisory Committee meetings.
He holds an Msc in Environmental Biology (on humpback dolphin
ecology), and is currently pursuing a PhD in technology and innovation
management. He serves as Vice chairman of the Executive
Council of GMO Act (1997) as well as being a current and former
director on several boards. He has also previously been Programme
Manager for the Distinct SA Research Opportunities (DSA) and Unlocking
the Future (UTF) programmes at the National Research Foundation.
Ben took up the position of Director of Biotechnology at DST
in 2003, in which capacity he is responsible for the implementation of
the national biotechnology strategy - aimed at stimulating,
coordinating and driving all aspects of the development of South
Africa’s bio-economy.
Under revision and development as the BioEconomy Strategy,
this national plan is intended to direct the harnessing of
biotechnology – and its many applications - towards contributing to
sustainable growth and development through delivering a more
sustainable and bio-based knowledge economy. In particular, the
BioEconomy Strategy focuses on the skills and capacities that will
enhance biotechnology outcomes.
Ben’s portfolio also includes participation in the South
African Bio-Design Initiative (SABDI) which is being established in
support of the BioEconomy Strategy to promote the understanding, design
and re-engineering of life systems to create products and processes
that are useful to South Africa. “This strategic initiative aims to
integrate the set of complementary disciplines that together allow the
visualisation, understanding, design, modelling and engineering of life
systems to underpin the development of the BioEconomy”, he explains.
According to Ben, the ACGT is an example of a working
innovation system, where new associations & organizations
develop rapidly in response to a need or a gap. Although
there is much to be done to enhance the National System of Innovation,
Ben says, the ACGT is spontaneously doing things we struggle to do in
SA: developing local networks and collaborations, and improving the
efficiencies of limited budgets. “ACGT is a great model that
we need to encourage.”
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