On 11 December 2024, a delegation from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and partner universities visited the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), and the University of Cape Town (UCT) and held meetings with heads of research faculties and relevant departments to discuss cooperation issues.

The visit to the universities was one of the events dedicated to the opening of a JINR Information Centre at the iThemba Cyclotron Laboratory (NRF: iThemba LABS) in Cape Town, South Africa. JINR representatives and Head of the new Information Centre Richard Newman were part of the delegation together with Dean of the Faculty of Physics and Technology of North Ossetian State University Albina Daurova, Director of Applied Physics Institute of Irkutsk State University Andrey Tanaev, and Vice-Rector for Educational and Methodological Work at Dubna State University Olga Anisimova.

At the University of the Western Cape, the delegation was welcomed by Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences David Holgate, Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy Sylvain Halindintwali, and Head of the Department of Chemistry Nazeem Jahed. At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the delegation met with University’s International Relations Manager Tasmeera Singh and heads of a number of relevant departments. Dean of the Faculty of Science Hussein Suleman, Head of the Department of Physics Steve Peterson, Professor Igor Barashenkov, and representatives of several projects spoke to the delegation at the University of Cape Town. The delegation members got acquainted with the infrastructure and scientific and educational programmes of the universities.

While introducing the members of the delegation, Executive of the Contacts with South Africa, Director of the University Centre at JINR Dmitry Kamanin mentioned specific opportunities for cooperation between JINR and the universities represented at the meeting. The parties discussed joint work in personnel training, innovation issues, and participation in research infrastructure projects in the JINR residence country, in particular, in the TAIGA Collaboration (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic ray physics and Gamma Astronomy). Deputy Chief Scientific Secretary of the Institute Alexey Zhemchugov commented on the opportunities for participating in various JINR scientific projects and large infrastructure, in particular, in the creation of the SPD Detector at the NICA Collider. The meeting participants briefly discussed possible formats and areas of cooperation with a focus on the potential of the Institute and its Information Centres as platforms for expanding bilateral and multilateral international scientific and technical ties and agreed to continue the dialogue in the near future.