The University staff has been once again reminded that they, together with their Institution benefit a lot by applying for the NRF rating. Dr Anette Mienie, Director of the Research Directorate, while taking part in a workshop on 16 January 2025, said that the NRF (National Research Foundation) rating was an important milestone in the career development of researchers. The number of NRF-rated researchers also contributes significantly to the reputation of universities, Dr Mienie told staff at the annual NRF rating workshop.
The MUT staff that attended the workshop benefited from a presentation by Jelka Monyela, Professional Officer: Rating and Awards, at the NRF. The facilitator took the staff through all the stages of applying for the NRF rating and dismissed the common belief that the NRF makes a judgment about the outcome of an application. “You are rated by your peers in your respective field, not the NRF. This is a process where you benchmark yourself against your peers. To ensure that an application gets off to a smooth beginning, the applicants must first meet the deadline set by their DA (Designated Authority). The DA is part of the Research directorate, in the case of MUT. The DA then goes through the application and advises the applicant accordingly.
The MUT staff appreciated the chance to learn about the NRF rating application from Monyela and Dr Karishma Singh, a Lecturer in the Department of Nature Conservation. Dr Singh took the staff through her application. She is awaiting the outcome of her application. Sithembiso Makhathini, an Industrial Technician in the Department of Chemical Engineering, said he wanted to know the process of applying for the NRF rating. Makhathini said the workshop met his expectations. “I learned that being NRF rated is a gateway to various promotional opportunities and that it also helps to cement the career profile of an academic.” Makhathini also got to know that it was important to strive for quality rather than quantity. “Instead of generating dozens of articles with less research output, try to write an article that will be highly recognised,” he said. Dr Mienie said that she was hoping that “eventually all MUT researchers will be NRF-rated.