Wits Innovation Centre (WIC)

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Welcome to the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC)

This is where brilliant minds come together to create, collaborate, and drive multidisciplinary innovation that leads to impactful solutions. #WitsInnovation | #InnovationForGood

Innovation newsLatest

Wits receives US$1.8 million from Bezos Earth Fund The award supports innovative use of artificial intelligence to protect biodiversity and advance climate solutions worldwide. 23 October 2025

AIrSynQ – a breath of fresh air at the beach Guests at Blaauwberg Beach Hotel in Cape Town experience how Wits research powers a new AI air quality system. 23 October 2025

You want to save the planet? Change the way you think Lifestyle changes will be of more benefit in the fight against climate change than industrialised solutions such as electric vehicles. 23 October 2025

How cashew nut shells could help Africa make vaccines Waste to wonder: Chemists and scientists are engineering a next-generation vaccine from a surprising and humble source. 21 October 2025

About us Learn more about what we do, how we are governed and funded, and the Wits Strategic Plan for Innovation (2023 - 2027).

Professor Christo Doherty and Letlotlo Phohole

Meet the team Letlotlo Phohole is the Director of the WIC, and Professor Christo Doherty is the Acting Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation.

Need assistance? Contact us for all aspects of innovation, including fundraising, marketing, spinouts/incubation, negotiating commercial deals, intellectual property and protection strategies.

Innovation Support The Innovation Support unit enables researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to develop products, processes, and services.

About #WitsInnovation We are committed to using our knowledge for the advancement of our community, city, country, continent, and the globe.

Dr David Fine, Wits alumnus and innovator

Chair in Innovation The Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation is made possible by a generous donation from Dr David Fine, Wits alumnus and renowned innovator and entrepreneur.

Telkom Industries Solutions Lab This is the first Industry Solutions Lab to partner with the Wits Innovation Centre and will collaborate to drive cutting-edge innovations in telecommunications.

#InnovationForGoodThe new Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) was officially launched on 17 April 2023. It is a dynamic multidisciplinary hub that will harness the creativity and ingenuity of the Wits community to solve complex, real-world problems.

Vision

To be at the leading edge of #InnovationForGood and a hub that links innovation ecosystems between Global North and Global South universities.

Mission

To meet society's needs by turning knowledge into impactful solutions.

Values

To enable an environment to create, collaborate, and engage in impactful innovation, across disciplines and boundaries.

Strategy

The Wits Strategic Plan for Innovation is a dynamic document that provides leadership and guidance to innovation across the University.

Innovation Without Boundaries Video Podcast Series

In this inaugural episode of the Wits Innovation Centre’s Innovation Without Boundaries Video Podcast Series, we speak to Dr David Fine. He is a scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur whose career has spanned decades and disciplines and who has funded the Chair of Innovation at Wits. His work has contributed significantly to our everyday lives, such as in the fields of food safety and explosive detection.

Watch the Series — Get Inspired to Innovate!

#InnovationForGood

Listen to Wits' Professor Andrew Forbes in an interview with Talk Radio 702 as he talks about how the shaping of quantum light can lead to a more secure future.

The Pecogrid pilot study examines the viability of rolling out solar power and microgrid inverter systems in informal communities - providing energy to these communities, while it may at the same time acting as an income generator for individuals.

Professor Bavesh Kana and his team are dedicated to fighting Tuberculosis (TB) and developed advanced techniques such as genome editing to enhance molecular diagnostics for TB. These techniques are now used in 20 other countries around the world.

Coming in 2024: The new high-tech Digital Dome in Johannesburg will be a world-class digital facility that provides a cutting-edge 360-degree visual experience to enhance research, training, and innovation through immersion in multi-dimensional, cross-disciplinary worlds.

There is a critical shortage of expert medical specialists in South Africa and the new Wits Advanced Surgical Skills Lab helps to enhance the training of surgeons, across disciplines, in a state-of-the-art environment, with the best equipment available.

Distinguished Professor Andrew Forbes and his team of structured light researchers are investigating the role that quantum light can play in making communications systems not only faster, but more secure as well.