Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General, Department of Science and Technology gives his speech at the TIPS 2018 Conference.
Speakers at the TIPS Conference 2018 (#TIPS2018), which took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton, South Africa on Wednesday, 28 February 2018, explored the benefits and challenges of effectively managing Technology, Innovation, People and Systems. The event hosted decision makers in the public and private sectors as well as speakers from organisations who previously won the tt100 awards.
During his keynote address, Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General at the Department of Science and Technology, provided insight into some of the initiatives that the department has undertaken in South Africa.
Dr Mjwara said the department is providing funding for the development of new sensors, which include satellite sensors that measure atomic oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere as well as micro-seismic sensors used in mining to give early warning of rock falls.
"This multitude of sensed data streams, combined in ways not possible before, allows us to discover new insights from the data and apply these insights through Technology, Innovation, with People and in Systems (“TIPS”)," said Dr Mjwara.
"While it is important to digitalise to remain competitive, increased digitalisation itself brings the potential for industries and companies to be disrupted through business model innovation," said Dr Mjwara.
Dr Mjwara highlighted the department’s support for the Da Vinci tt100 Business Innovation Awards programme. Attendees at the conference were given the opportunity to explore ideas with industry peers and thought leaders on the TIPS Framework and how to align, engage and become agile in the workplace.
Eileen Wilton, Technology Leader and former CEO of Gijima, unpacked technology readiness and risk management. Wilton discussed the importance of digital and the need for digital transformation within organisations. She said that the most successful companies today are based on technology platforms.
"One needs to think, consider and be ready for digital transformation and the key challenge is ICT leadership," said, Wilton.
Eric Stokes, Chief Information Officer at Pfortner spoke about how the effective management of technology contributes to organisational success. Stokes looked into some of the factors necessary for the management of technology. He stressed that businesses need to develop a technology strategy in order to become more disruptive.
The TIPS Conference 2018 was organised by IT News Africa in partnership with tt100 and in association with The Da Vinci Institute as well as the Department of Science and Technology.
Key Topics included:
- Technology readiness and risk management
- A leadership perspective on enabling creativity and innovation
- Innovation as a management process
- How leadership can successfully drive innovation
- Identifying and developing the next generation of leadership within the organisation
- Navigating the roadblocks to innovation
- Systems thinking for contemporary challenges
- Leading an organisation using a systemic thinking approach
Speakers included:
- Prof Edward Kieswetter, President of The Da Vinci Institute
- Dr Oliver Naidu, Managing Director at Refined Leadership Consulting
- Eileen Wilton, Technology Leader and Former CEO of Gijima
- Themba Dlamini, Head of Auditing and Accounting at Dunamis Mangement services
- Bruce Diale, CEO at Brucol Global Development
- Darryl Pillay, Managing Director at Jungle Book Room, Wild Innovation
- Elan Sullivan, CTO at PFK Electronics
- Dr Shamila Singh, Head of HR Standards at SA Board For People Practices
By Fundisiwe Maseko
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