New cross-continental AI partnership
- Wits University
Wits, UCT, partner with the CISPA Helmholtz-Center for Information Security to drive research into cybersecurity and trustworthy AI.
The partnerships are an important step in developing a sustainable, transformative and globally connected research ecosystem in cybersecurity and trustworthy AI.
The partnerships will enable cross-institutional exchanges between researchers and students as well as facilitate mutual visits and joint research projects with the aim of driving research and innovation in cybersecurity and trustworthy AI. It will also support the development of two new degrees in cybersecurity at Wits University.
Professor Richard Klein, Deputy Head of the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, says: “The collaboration establishes a framework for joint research, academic exchanges, and co-supervision of postgraduate students in the fields of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cryptography. It will also support the two new postgraduate degrees in cybersecurity that Wits will spearhead in 2026.”
Faith Blakemore, Head of International Affairs and Science Relations at CISPA says: “These partnerships will not only create opportunities for CISPA researchers to engage with the scientific community in Africa but will also open up new international research perspectives and trajectories. These Memoranda of Understanding will now serve as the foundation for further exciting and equally beneficial activities, including research opportunities for members of all our institutions.”
Professor Jon Shock, Director of the UCT AI Initiative at the University of Cape Town, says: “The University of Cape Town (UCT) and CISPA have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding to advance cutting-edge research and capacity building in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. This partnership brings together one of Africa’s leading academic institutions and one of Europe’s foremost institutes in information security, creating new opportunities for joint projects, student exchanges, and the co-development of innovative solutions to global digital challenges. The MoU underscores UCT’s commitment to building international collaborations that strengthen both fundamental research and the application of secure, trustworthy technologies in African and global contexts.”
Finding common ground for future research collaborations was also at the heart of the three-day Knowledge Exchange Workshop with cybersecurity researchers from CISPA, UCT, and WITS, which took place in September 2025. In various formats, including presentations and breakout sessions, the participants shared insights in their work and discussed German and South African perspectives in cybersecurity, machine learning and trustworthy AI. In two fascinating keynote lectures, the guests also provided stimuli for further scientific exchange and debate.
Wallace Chigona, Professor in Information Systems at UCT, spoke on cybersecurity capacity development in Africa, while Professor Benjamin Rosman, Director of Wits University’s Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery Institute (The Wits MIND Institute), spoke on the development of safe, general robots through logical behaviour composition.