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Google.org has awarded $2 million to Wits University’s Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa to accelerate scientific discovery through external collaborations that enable real-world impact.
The funding will boost the Institute’s targeted capacity development and networking-building programmes across disciplines, and dialogue among academia, industry, policymakers and others.
According to Professor Benjamin Rosman, Director of The Wits MIND Institute, “The Wits MIND Institute was conceived to place African researchers at the forefront of the understanding and study of intelligence – natural and artificial. Google.org’s support cements our capacity to train talent, incubate disruptive ideas, and ensure our discoveries translate into societal benefit.”
Launched in November 2024 after more than a decade of Wits University’s investment in postgraduate education, capacity building, and pan-African AI initiatives, The Wits MIND Institute has rapidly become a hub for cutting-edge research and thought leadership. MIND Fellows and Chairs are already collaborating on more than 25 projects in domains from reinforcement learning to digital humanities. The MINDFund also provides targeted capacity and seed funding to novel research and is currently supporting five projects.
It recently launched its inaugural cohort of 34 MIND Fellows, among them various research Chairs and National Research Foundation-rated researchers from all Faculties and core Departments at the University — a truly cross-functional group that sparks transdisciplinary engagement and research.
By developing and deploying AI models and dictating policies that consider the culture and diversity of more than one billion people on the continent, the Wits MIND Institute will ensure that Africa has a seat at the global AI table.
“Wits University is proud to host The Wits MIND Institute, a bold experiment in converging natural and artificial intelligence research. This funding from Google.org reinforces our shared vision for enhancing Wits’ historical role, from the first computer to the RADAR, in placing South Africa, and the rest of Africa, at the cusp of technological development,” says Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.
Researchers and stakeholders are invited to engage with The Wits MIND Institute’s growing ecosystem. Sign up to learn about the Institute’s events and opportunities, and look out for the next MIND Fellows cohort application in September 2025.
The Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand is an African-based interdisciplinary AI research hub that aims to advance the scientific understanding of both natural and artificial intelligence, foster breakthrough research and technological innovation, invest in developing a crucial mass of African AI expertise, and establish responsible policies for systemic, sustained impact both locally and globally.