Science Innovation Day shows commercially viable novel ideas

Science Innovation Day shows commercially viable novel ideas

26 February 2026 - Wits University

From ground-breaking research to connecting researchers, exciting ideas are coming out of the Wits University Faculty of Science.

Students and staff across fields are breaking the stereotype that scientists should focus on academic research and lab work rather than innovative ideas that could lead to profitable businesses and projects.

Novel ideas that could be or already are commercially viable were on display as posters at the first-of-its-kind faculty-wide Innovation Day last year, held in collaboration with the Wits Innovation Centre(WIC) and the Wits Commercial Enterprise.

Here are five examples of what the faculty has to offer.

Transforming agri waste

Banana peels, corn cobs, and lemon peels could hold the key to treating a toxic byproduct of trash. When solid waste sits in landfills and dumpsites, it creates a toxic liquid called leachate, which is risky to the environment and humans. Current treatment options are expensive and polluting.

"We are looking at developing a more sustainable, low-cost, and eco-friendly method," student Makhamati Sello explains. Her team has shown how agricultural waste can be used to pre-treat leachate effectively in experiments. She hopes to turn this research into a marketable project in the future.

Targeting neurodegenerative diseases

The team at the ComplEX Drug Discovery Lab is working to develop a comprehensive drug design pipeline for how treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are developed. This would bring the expenses, complexity, and time of testing compounds down significantly.

The team has tested using modelling to identify candidate compounds before taking them through chemical synthesis, lab experiments, and then moving towards adapting them functionally. Lab member Cheyann Dare says that this is going well so far, and they have successfully run the process. "There is promise. We are very excited about it and are all very passionate!"

Geoscience solutions

When students and researchers in the geosciences were struggling to find enough local funding for their work and studies, the School of Geosciences stepped in with an innovative solution.

Earth Quest Solutions is a spin-off company which makes an income from the School's expertise and facilities, for instance, through commercial work and offering geotourism. "We will take that and build an interest-earning endowment that will be a sustainable source of funding for the school," says Dr Sarah Glynn, the Solutions Manager of Earth Quest.

Knowledge discover engine

"The real power of knowledge is when it's applied," says Funanani Mavhunga, the founder of Mushroom X. He is concerned that there is a disconnect between academia and industry, where researchers don't know how to best connect with the market, and industry may not know what knowledge is being produced.

The Mushroom X project hopes to bridge this gap by match making industry and researchers, creating a registry of available knowledge and posting opportunities that may be addressed by research.

Mavhunga says they have already had interest in the idea, and an inaugural commercial deal is underway. Students and researchers are also able to register online.

New materials

Lethabo Makgato from the Material Physics Research Institute has worked with a promising material called Kagome lattice, which may be uniquely useful in creating smarter, cleaner, and more efficient technologies in the future. "Our research is trying to make physics meet innovation," he says.

His work is showing the unique characteristics of Kagome lattice materials, particularly their structure, magnetism and thermoelectricity. This has shown that they have the potential to convert waste heat into electrical energy and are uniquely promising for use in quantum sensors.

This is only the tip of an iceberg of the amazing ideas being worked on in the faculty. Professor Mandeep Kaur, the Assistant Dean of Research & Innovation, hopes that other parts of the Wits community will be inspired by the Innovation Day and the work displayed there. "I am continuously in awe of our students and staff and their innovative ideas. It is truly insipring," she says.

"Innovation must become part of our institutional DNA, not an activity that sits on the periphery," the Dean of Science, Professor Nithaya Chetty, says. "Importantly, we are showing that innovation can thrive alongside research, postgraduate training, and teaching-not in place of them."