The Learning Information Networking Knowledge (LINK) Centre in Johannesburg is an interdisciplinary academic hub, established in 2000, that is based at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) School of Literature, Language and Media (SLLM) and the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct. The LINK team researches, publishes, advises and teaches on a wide range of technology, innovation, and digital transformation matters in African contexts. LINK works at the intersections of policy studies, law and regulation, political science, economics, sociology, informatics, information science, digital engineering, media studies, management, and development studies. The Centre, located in Johannesburg’s inner city, focuses on themes of economic and societal change in the paradigm of knowledge-based network economies evolving through digital innovation.
At present, LINK's core research themes are:
In addition to team members' publication of research reports, policy papers, journal articles, book chapters and books, the Centre publishes the accredited, open access, peer-reviewed academic journal, The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC). and team member Justine Limpitlaw produces the Electronic Communications Law Digest. LINK's research and publishing outputs contribute to policy development, public discourse, and delivery of its learning programmes. The Centre offers three postgraduate degrees and several short courses, with four of the current short courses provided in collaboration with the ITU Academy. The PhD and Master's degrees comprise:
The short courses cover:
LINK was active in the establishment of the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, and is involved in several international research initiatives. (See Origins and Partners below.)
The LINK team members, who include full-time academics, a coordinator, research associates and honorary academics, convene and provide the Centre's short courses and PhD and Master's degrees, including provision of supervision to the postgraduate students. Team members also produce research, publish findings and recommendations in accordance with the Centre's research themes, and provide advisory support to public institutions and industry entities seeking to address strategic, managerial and technical challenges emerging in the African digital knowledge economy.
LINK Centre Director, Associate Professor, and AJIC Corresponding Editor
Go to Team page for profiles of all members.
The LINK Centre has its origins in the mid-1990s, at the beginnings of South Africa's democratic era, during a period that saw the establishment of many new education and training entities in the country. The Centre's activities commenced in 1996 as the ICT4D programme of the Wits Graduate School of Public and Development Management (P&DM), and the LINK Centre was launched, at P&DM, in 2000.
In 2011, LINK moved over from P&DM to the Wits Faculty of Humanities, so as to take advantage of that Faculty's research-rich environment, and joined the Wits School of Literature, Language and Media (SLLM). In addition to being part of SLLM, LINK is a founding member of the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, which was launched in 2016 as the brainchild of Prof. Barry Dwolatzky, who passed away in 2023. Dwolatzky was a consistent supporter of the work of the LINK Centre. (See LINK's Tribute to "Prof Barry" Dwolatzky (23 May 2023).)
The Centre works with several partners on the Digital Skillshare Project, and collaborates with the international Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network, the University of Johannesburg's Centre for Competition Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED), the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, the Wits School of Governance, and the Wits Business School. LINK also has a long history of providing capacity-building to regulatory bodies, including the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), and the Communications Regulatory Association of Southern Africa (CRASA). LINK supports the capacity-building work of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), serving as an ITU Academy Training Centre.
The Centre has produced commissioned research for numerous entities, including the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and South African stakeholders including the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG), the National School of Government (NSG), the National Research Foundation (NRF), and Vodacom.
