My vision for the future of research at UP and how I will contribute to this development
I would like to see more interdisciplinary research projects at UP. Most South African universities have a history of a very individualized research approach with a multitude of small research projects and very little contact between research groups. While a variety of skills and expertise is important I would like to see those skills and experience focus on fewer essential problems but addressing a specific problem from multiple angles. An example from my own field would be a problem on plant stress adaptation being address from a physiological, genetic, biochemical and bioinformatical approach but also to look at issues related to that from a nutritional, sociological and economical point of view. I have seen similar approaches used with high levels of success at other institutions. Furthermore I would like to see more international collaboration but also a higher amount of international student exchanges and international researcher being stationed at UP. I also believe that our postgraduate students should be given more opportunity to spend at least a month or more stationed with international research groups. While technology have the ability to connect us with any lab across the globe the experience of spending time working at a different laboratory results in students (and staff) with a much more rounded and mature world view both scientifically but also personally.