u. The Committee attended two conferences for the year under review, namely the CSIR biennial conference and the Department's STI Summit. The Committee found that both meetings were meaningful because the CSIR conference illustrated the research and development work of the CSIR in response to national priorities. The STI Summit provided key stakeholders with the opportunity to discuss and explore ways of strengthening the NSI in line with the objectives of the NDP, the NGP and the IPAP2.