Stellenbosch innovation district

The clustering of economic activity has brought economic benefits in the past – London for finance, Hollywood for film, San Francisco for tech. Does Stellenbosch have an innovation district? Stellenbosch has a university, innovation hubs, tech incubators and a science park. But are these enough to make an innovation district like the modern ones in Boston, Barcelona or Shenzen? Or is Stellenbosch better seen as part of a national innovation system that incentivizes the transfers of intellectual property from university to the market. National innovation policy focuses primarily on building an academic research base, training postgraduate students, and providing some support for technology transfer. However, national innovation policy is currently weak at increasing the number of patents filed, the government funding of business expenditure on research and development, and improving the quality of life (HIV, youth unemployment). This project examines the components of an innovation district in Stellenbosch – university research, technology transfer, start-ups, and public research institutes.