Johannesburg — THE Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has launched a researcher development programme in an effort to grow the number of researchers in the country and improve the institution's capacity.

The new internship programme, named after SA's award-winning writer and academic, Es'kia Mphahlele, is also aimed at improving the HSRC's performance levels.

It is hoped that this programme will solve the shortage of researchers in the country especially in social sciences.

Prof Mukole Kongolo, director of the capacity development unit at the HSRC, said on Friday the institution wanted to make a contribution in the development of "a pool of scientists by offering them cutting-edge opportunities" that were rarely available in similar organisations. "The main focus is on previously disadvantaged groups as defined by the Employment Equity Act."

He said previously "black" universities lacked capacity and as a result did not conduct research. Kongolo said he believed capacity development was needed at many levels in research and development institutions.