Stellenbosch University selects Symplectic Elements to support and streamline research outputs submissions to the DHET

Digital Science, a technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, is pleased to announce that Stellenbosch University (SU) has selected Symplectic Elements from Digital Science’s flagship products to support its goal of advancing knowledge in service of society. 

Symplectic Elements will provide SU with a Researcher Profiles and Research Outputs Management Solution, supporting and streamlining DHET (Department of Higher Education and Training) submissions and providing a public profiling system for its researchers. 

SU is one of South Africa’s leading tertiary institutions, and is recognised internationally as an academic institution of excellence. According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, SU is one of the top 300 universities in the world, and among the top 20 in BRICS countries. 

Symplectic Elements was selected following a comprehensive tender process to identify a Researcher Profiles and Research Outputs Management Solution that would support two primary use cases: 

1)    Streamlined capture and review of research outputs ready for DHET submission

2)    A public profiles portal that would drive discoverability of researchers across the university, and help to showcase the work being done on and off campus.

DHET submissions

The Department of Higher Education & Training (DHET) allocates subsidies to higher education institutions based on their policy to encourage quality research. All public higher education institutions in South Africa must annually submit to the Department their subsidy funding claims for research and creative outputs. 

Symplectic Elements’ core functionality is centered around continuous, automated capture of research output data from multiple internal and external sources. By using Elements, Stellenbosch University will be able to harvest publication data from a variety of data sources, and review and verify it, ready for submission to DHET. 

Research Profiles

SU also selected Symplectic Elements to provide a new public profiles portal, replacing its legacy Knowledge Directory. Public profiles repurpose the rich and often unique data already collected within Elements to populate fully-rounded profiles including biographical information as well as publications, grants and professional & teaching activities.

“Stellenbosch University looks forward to our partnership with Symplectic Elements,” said Maryke Hunter-Husselmann, Director of Research Information and Strategy at Stellenbosch University.

“The system will streamline our current processes related to the electronic submission of research publications. It will also enable access to additional information on our research outputs, which will be valuable for integrated reporting. We are also excited about the possibilities that the Discovery module holds to showcase SU’s areas of expertise – not only on an individual researcher level but also institutionally. It will definitely contribute to our efforts to create visibility for our research portfolio, and our core strategic area Research for Impact, as set out in SU’s Vision 2020.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Stellenbosch University to the Symplectic community, and look forward to supporting SU in achieving its Vision 2040 goal of becoming ‘Africa’s leading research-intensive university, globally recognised as excellent, inclusive and innovative,’” said Jonathan Breeze, CEO of Symplectic. 

“Symplectic has a long history of supporting the capture and reporting of research outputs to government and funding organizations and our partnership with SU will better help us deliver a suite of workflow functionality within Elements to help SU and other higher education institutions meet the requirements of DHET submissions.”

About Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University (SU) is rooted in Africa and global in its reach. The University’s positioning is guided by Vision 2040: to be Africa’s leading research-intensive university, globally recognized as excellent, inclusive, and innovative, where staff and students advance knowledge in service of society. The University comprises 10 faculties: AgriSciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Economic and Management Sciences, Education, Engineering, Medicine and Health Sciences, Law, Military Science, Science, and Theology.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is a technology company working to make research more efficient. We invest in, nurture and support innovative businesses and technologies that make all parts of the research process more open and effective. Our portfolio includes admired brands including Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, ReadCube, Symplectic, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, Overleaf, Ripeta, Writefull, OntoChem, Scismic and metaphacts. We believe that together, we can help researchers make a difference. Visit www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on Twitter or on LinkedIn.

About Symplectic

Part of Digital Science, Symplectic works in pursuit of the advancement of knowledge, delivering flexible information management solutions that help universities, institutions and funders achieve their research goals. With over 18 years of experience and 115+ clients, Symplectic Elements is trusted by universities, institutions and research organizations around the world.

Media contacts

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