54 FACULTY OF HUMANITIES ANNUAL REPORT 2021 2021 Key performance highlights Background ACEPS was established in 2018 with the aim of capitalising on UJ Philosophy’s unique concentration of expertise in epistemology and philosophy of science, as well as of cultivating young African talent in these areas. The aim in 2021 was to earn our African name by putting to work these traditionally Eurocentric fields in our African context. As a result, we have started acquiring a worldwide reputation for our research on epistemic decolonisation and injustice, and their links to 4IR. Photo: Prof Veli Mitova, Director of ACEPS A stellar 2021 A changing of the guard with a new ACEPS director appointed in July 2021 led to better-faster-cheaper results being achieved with the meagre resources of a non-independent centre with no URC budget or permanent staff! This is how it was done in the five months… Levelling the playing field and making our mark Covid worldwide lockdown turned out to be an opportunity for ACEPS rather than a hinderance. Merely by taking advantage of the internet’s resources – the only tools available to all academics worldwide during Covid – levelled the playing field for the quick and nimble! Networking – same old, same old, BUT @ internet warp speed, turbo charged by accessibility via Zoom video conferencing, ACEPS YouTube channel exposure, and the giving and attending of online talks. The straitjacket of time and cost imposed by distance from the Global North was eliminated. Result? ACEPS marketed itself by making its mark! Our researchers got noticed Invited talks and keynotes flooded in - ACEPS previously consigned to afterthought status by the high price of a plane ticket, could compete as equals with the Global North. Which we did - and punched well above our weight! Our postgrads thrived Overseas postgraduates drown in funding and opportunities to hone their skills across the world, while their poor cousins in the Global South are confined to a tiny pond of local universities – effectively academic segregation. But not so much anymore: ACEPS postgrads revelled in being on the world stage with their peers. Photos: Dimpho Maponya, Abe Tobi and Caitlin Rybko – Three of ACEPS’s PhD students who presented at various conferences We founded the epistemology of the internet ACEPS established a new sub-discipline by leveraging international networks and running a 3-keynote, 150 pax @ no cost conference – from conception to finish in 3 months. (Pre-Covid: cost R78 K , 9-12 months lag to apply for funding, coordinate with 3 keynotes, etc.)
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