Universities South Africa

23/10/2026

OPEN ACCESS WEEK 🔒
19 - 24 OCTOBER 2026 🔒

Day 4 Thursday | 22 October 2026 🔒
The cost of being locked out 🔒

What do we lose when knowledge stays behind a paywall? As at March 2025, SciELO South Africa provided open access to 51,927 scholarly articles. The platform recorded 14.6 million visits in 2024/25. Open research reaches well beyond university networks.

Teachers, health workers, businesses and communities all benefit when research is accessible. Whose work could your research support if they could read it?

Ask your university library how to share your research legally through an open repository.

Note: These are platform metrics, not a measure of total national Open Access output.



Sources: Academy of Science of South Africa Annual Report 2024/25, SciELO SA section.

21/10/2026

OPEN ACCESS WEEK 19 - 23 OCTOBER 2026 🔒
THE COST OF KNOWLEDGE 🔒

Day 3 Wednesday 21 October
The cost that is never invoiced 🔒

Researchers worldwide spent over 100 million hours on journal peer review in 2020.
US-based reviewers’ time alone was valued at more than US$1.5 billion. We don’t have the South African data.

That contribution draws on expertise, time and university resources.

Today, we recognise the people who make scholarly publishing possible.

Does our publishing system fairly reflect what the academic community contributes?
What are your views?


Sources: Peer-review cost study nbsp;[1]Peer-review estimate: Aczel, Szaszi and Holcombe (2021)

20/10/2026

OPEN ACCESS WEEK 19 - 24 OCTOBER 🔒

Day 1- Monday, 19 October

THE COST OF READING 🔒

The research exists. Can you afford to read it? 🔒

A paywall can stand between a student and a vital source, a lecturer and new evidence, a researcher and a scientific breakthrough, or a community organisation, and research that could support its work or improve lives, but access comes at a cost, and it does not reach everyone.

As USAf’s Open Access Week campaign begins, we ask: Who gets to read the knowledge our universities produce?

Follow our campaign as we explore .



SANLiC
Academy of Science of South Africa

20/10/2026

OPEN ACCESS WEEK 19 – 23 OCTOBER 2026 🔒

Day 2 | Tuesday 20 October
What does it cost to publish? 🔒

A preprint released in 2026 estimates that US$3.7 billion was spent on article-processing charges at 14 major publishers in 2025.

Locally, SANLiC reports that 5,853 open-access articles were published under its read-and-publish agreements in 2024, with fee waivers or discounts.

Publishing openly, need not mean paying an author fee.

Early career researchers - check journal charges, Diamond Open Access Options and your library’s publishing agreements before submitting. Your institution’s publishing agreements may also cover or reduce publishing fees, subject to eligibility.

Follow our campaign as part of Open Access Week 📢


Sources: 2026 APC expenditure study | SANLiC Annual Report 2024

Note: The US$3.7 billion figure is an estimate covering 14 publishers, not an audited worldwide total.

Want to find out more? Visit the following websites:

Academy of Science of South Africa
https://lnkd.in/dfQ5KEeD

SANLiC
https://lnkd.in/dC9bC3pp

Universities South Africa
https://lnkd.in/dXJemPJi

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This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

14/10/2026

Update on Proposal Applications: Communications/ Writing Services

Thank you for your interest in submitting a proposal for Communication Services / Writing Services.

Please be advised that the evaluation process is still underway. Feedback regarding the outcome will be provided within the next four weeks.

Should you not receive correspondence within this period, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Thank you

09/10/2026

The Finale | Day 3 Live Stream

🎥 Tune in live as we bring you the final day of the Universities South Africa Higher Education Conference.

🔗 Live Stream Link:https://www.youtube.com/live/JANHzOqtRlE

4TH USAF HIGHER EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2026 - DAY 3Co-CREATING A RES...

08/10/2026

Day 2: 4th USAf Higher Education Conference 2026 Day 2 live stream: https://www.youtube.com/live/RzvqxXxVXf8?si=GdYUedcRt-kG6KdI

4TH USAF HIGHER EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2026 - DAY 2Co-CREATING A RES...

07/10/2026

We are LIVE!

The 4th USAf Higher Education Conference is underway. Please tune in

https://www.youtube.com/live/u3PcYz5MA0o

We are LIVE! The 4th Universities South Africa HIGHER Education Conference is happening at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Follow the proceedings LIVE ! https://lnkd.in/ed26fFzY

07/10/2026

Today, All Roads lead to the CSIR Convention Centre 📍Pretoria

17/09/2026

Meet the Speaker: Professor Thandwa Mthembu

How do we create a resilient future without first understanding the realities shaping higher education today?

Professor Thandwa Mthembu, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Durban University of Technology, will address this compelling question in his keynote, “Creating a Resilient Future: Understanding the Present.”

Professor Mthembu brings 38 years of experience in academia, including 30 years in senior and executive leadership. His scholarship, visionary leadership and extensive service to national and international higher education bodies have helped shape South Africa’s higher education landscape.

Join us at the 4th USAf Higher Education Conference for this thought-provoking keynote.