College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2022 51 transformation” in June. Working papers and policy briefs have been produced to share the research findings with others in progress at the t ime of writing. Secondly, the second round of our survey of small and micro manufacturing enterprises in Johannesburg was a significant activity of 2022. This follows the first round of the survey undertaken in 2019, with the second round of the survey enabling more dynamic analysis. We surveyed just over a thousand firms in 2022. This novel database is being used in our research to enable an in-depth understanding of the drivers and obstacles to innovation at the firm level. Thirdly, in 2022 we took forward our ongoing primary research study on the adoption and impact of 4IR technologies among South African firms. This is a qualitative study aimed at an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of 4IR technologies at the firm level. Our sectoral focus during 2022 was on the clothing and textiles, airline, and pharmaceutical industries, for which the fieldwork was completed using updated and extended survey instruments. The above three primary data collection projects utilise different methodologies and levels of analysis and shed light on related issues of innovation, 4IR technologies, upgrading, and performance among South African firms. The novelty of these surveys enables original contributions to knowledge and the policy landscape. Another major research project in 2022 has been the Accelerating Vaccine Production in Africa: A Centre for Excellence Initiative. This project aims to support vaccine production in Africa by promoting a network of centres of excellence on the continent, focused on evidence-based research and capacity building on technology gaps and the means to address these. Our Visiting Professor, Padmashree Gehl Sampath, leads this project that the leading German development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), funds with a large grant. In 2022, a team of post-doctoral students and researchers was set up. A collaboration agreement was established with the EAC Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunisation and Health Supply Chain Management at the University of Rwanda. Field visits to Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal have taken place to conduct technology gaps assessments. The project runs until August 2023. In late 2022, we commenced a new research project on the contribution of science, technology, and innovation to socio-economic development in South Africa, funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), which will run until early 2024. We also began a research project on the industrialisation research landscape in Africa, funded by the NRF, which will be concluded in early 2023. NATIONAL AND GLOBAL FOOTPRINT Our national and global footprint has expanded significantly during 2022 through various new initiatives. Many of the research, engagement and capacity-building activities mentioned above also contributed to our and UJ’s national and international footprint. We built collaborations and partnerships with several centres and institutions, nationally and internationally. Examples of these include those with: Learning Information Networking Knowledge (LINK) Centre (Wits); Copenhagen Business School (Denmark); African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) (Ghana); Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies (TWIMS); the University of the West of England (United Kingdom); Policy Research in International Services and Manufacturing (PRISM) (UCT); Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance (UCT); and other SARChI Chairs. In addition, in collaboration with the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI), we were again the lead organiser of the Second Young Scholars Conference on Structural Change and Industrial Policy in Africa. As with the inaugural conference in 2021, this virtual event was held over two days. The conference opened with a keynote address from Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu (Special Advisor to the President for Economic Matters in the office of the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria). It concluded with a panel discussion between Dr Rob Davies (former Minister of Trade and Industry), Dr Aloysius Ordu (Brookings) and Professor Magda Shaheen (American University in Cairo). Senior international scholars acted as discussants on the papers presented. Presentations were made by 43 scholars from across Africa and beyond, with prizes awarded for the best paper presented at the conference ($750) and the runnerup best paper ($250). We also hosted the Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Economic Development and the Prize for Young Scholars in partnership with APORDE and TIPS. The prizes are awarded annually to recognise outstanding research papers by African scholars. In 2022, we received 72 submissions from African researchers. The entries were screened and shortlisted, and five panels of distinguished scholars selected the winners. The winner of the Outstanding Scholar award ($10 000) was Dr Eyob Gebremariam,
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