UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND JOHANNESBURG

Their core work

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) is a leading South African research university that serves as a key bridge between European and African research communities. Its H2020 portfolio spans critical raw materials and sustainable mining, human evolution and palaeosciences, climate services for Southern Africa, and social sciences including violence prevention and global justice. Wits brings deep African domain expertise — from fossil excavation sites to urban development dynamics — that European consortia cannot replicate internally, making it a sought-after partner for projects requiring genuine Africa-Europe collaboration.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), Wits focused on research ethics, raw materials policy dialogue, and EU-Africa cooperation frameworks — projects like TRUST, STRADE, and GLOBUS that were largely about governance, policy, and building equitable partnerships. From 2019 onward, the portfolio shifted toward applied science and tangible African challenges: bio-recovery of critical minerals (BIORECOVER), climate adaptation services (FOCUS-Africa), violence prevention research (INTERRUPT_VIOLENCE), and human evolutionary science (NewHuman). The trend is clear — from policy and dialogue toward hands-on research with direct African relevance.

Wits is deepening its role as the go-to African partner for applied EU-Africa research in climate, minerals, and social impact — expect growing demand for their Southern African domain expertise.

How they like to work

Wits never coordinates H2020 projects — it consistently joins as a participant or third party, contributing specialized African expertise to European-led consortia. With 182 unique partners across 40 countries, it operates as a highly networked node rather than a hub, plugging into diverse consortia rather than building a fixed partner base. This makes Wits easy to integrate into new consortia: they are experienced joiners who understand the partner role and bring non-overlapping geographic and domain knowledge.

Wits has collaborated with 182 unique partners across 40 countries, reflecting an exceptionally wide network for a non-European institution. Their connections span EU member states extensively, with particular depth in Africa-Europe bridge projects linking Southern African and Western European research communities.

What sets them apart

Wits is one of Africa's top research universities and among the most active South African participants in Horizon 2020. For European consortia needing genuine African partnership — not tokenistic inclusion — Wits delivers real research capacity in minerals, climate, palaeosciences, and social sciences grounded in decades of local fieldwork. Their 40-country collaboration network and track record across 17 projects demonstrate they understand EU project mechanics while bringing perspectives and data that no European partner can provide.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MAU
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 606,341) — a major ERC-backed study of large-scale urban development politics across Africa, running until 2026.
• BIORECOVER
  Substantial funding (EUR 596,634) for developing sustainable bio-recovery strategies for critical raw materials — directly relevant to EU resource security.
• INTERRUPT_VIOLENCE
  Unique longitudinal mixed-methods study on intergenerational violence transmission in South Africa — high social impact potential running until 2026.