South African companies aren’t innovating enough: why support during tough economic times matters

South Africa’s innovation fund, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the 2025 state of the nation address, was a response…

AI methods help predict the emergence of ‘gazelles’ and other high-growth firms, but challenges remain

Predicting whether or not companies will be successful is crucial for guiding investment decisions and designing effective economic policies. However,…

Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial

Summit Art Creations/Shutterstock In his victory speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted social policy as a major factor in Labor’s…

US universities lose millions of dollars chasing patents, research shows

Every year, American universities spend millions of dollars patenting inventions developed on their campuses. Big names such as Stanford and…

Dubai event invites researchers from across world to tackle global challenges – apply to attend

Are you a researcher with an idea that could help solve one of today’s most pressing problems? A conference in…

Canada is lagging in innovation, and that’s a problem for funding the programs we care about

As Canadians prepare to vote in another federal election, the country’s economy faces a sobering reality. As the Organization for…

Non-compete agreements and other restraints can end up hurting Australian workers – and all of us pay the price

Twinsterphoto/Shutterstock Australian workers have to overcome some significant barriers in navigating their careers. Some may lack the training or work…

When humans use AI to earn patents, who is doing the inventing?

Only humans can be awarded patents, but AIs can do a lot of the work to earn them. lineartestpilot/iStock via…

Four Chinese firms looking to shake up the tech world in the wake of DeepSeek

The success of the Chinese AI firm DeepSeek shocked financial markets and major US tech firms in January 2025. But…

South Africa’s state-owned entities are flagging – how innovation, research and development could revive them

GrAl/Shutterstock South Africa has about 700 state-owned enterprises. They operate across sectors like transport, energy and public utilities, and some…