NITheCS: PROMOTING THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE

Built on the foundation of the National Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITheP), NITheCS was launched on 1 April 2024. It serves as a Centre of Excellence under the National Research Foundation, an entity of the government’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation.

NITheCS is a multidisciplinary and multi-themed institute, as well as an “undisciplinary” institute. It encompasses the following eight themes:

Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bioinformatics & Quantitative Biology
Data Science
Earth Systems Modelling & Climate Change Modelling
Mathematics
Quantitative Finance
Statistics
Theoretical Physics

NITheCS aspires to be a leading African institute for theoretical and computational sciences, recognised for its excellent and impactful research, training, and engagement programmes. Through research, training and engagement across its eight science disciplines, NITheCS, aims to address real-world challenges, and contribute to sustainable solutions that align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the Institute strives to position South Africa at the forefront of global technological advancements and build competencies for the future.

Explore NITheCS’ research programmes.

Structure

Collaboration is central to NITheCS’ success. Operating as a consortium, the Institute has contractual agreements with all public universities in South Africa, as well as the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS South Africa).

These ‘branches’ of NITheCS are grouped within five nodes that are geographically located around the country. The nodes, each headed by a designated university, are:

Gauteng – University of the Witwatersrand
North – North-West University
KwaZulu-Natal – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Eastern Cape & Free State – Nelson Mandela University
Western Cape – Stellenbosch University

Plans are in place to expand to nine nodes by 2028.

The Institute’s central hub, located at Stellenbosch University, handles administration, hosting, research and capacity development. NITheCS will move into dedicated office space on the campus in 2025.

Beyond its local partnerships, NITheCS collaborates globally with strategic partners such as the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the Africa-Europe Cluster of Research Excellence (CoRE-AI). This provides a global perspective on theoretical and computational sciences.

Governance

NITheCS operates under a robust governance structure. Its Executive Management Committee is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board.

Learn more about NITheCS’ leadership.

Embracing open science, data, and source

NITheCS champions Open Science as a core principle. Open Science promotes the inclusive sharing and accessibility of scientific knowledge, enabling global collaboration and broad societal engagement in scientific processes. This commitment enhances transparency, fosters innovation and ensures that research benefits both science and society.

Building knowledge

NITheCS hosts numerous events to enhance human and research capacity, and encourages interdisciplinary networking and collaboration among its community. Many events are co-hosted with organisations whose activities align with those of the Institute, such as the Centre for High-Performance Computing (CHPC) for the annual hybrid CHPC & NITheCS Coding Summer School.

Most events are recorded and published on the NITheCS YouTube channel, creating an accessible repository of knowledge for both the local and global community.

Associates

NITheCS’ progress is driven by its Associates, who are from academia or industry within its eight core disciplines. The Institute offers various categories for participation, namely Junior Associate, Individual Associate, Institutional Associate and Strategic Associate.

Discover more about NITheCS Associates.