DISSAnet: Development of an information science research network in the Republic of South Africa 1998-2000

Based on the concept of the NORDIC academic cooperation model (NorFa), in 1998-2000 Danish and international information scientists initiated a co-operative effort to build an education and research network among LIS institutions in South Africa. The paper reports the successful completion of the project, with 20 MA and Ph.D. students selected equally from the traditional black and white universities of the country. The participants coined their own name, DISSAnet, which stands for Development in Information Science in South Africa. It is intended that DISSAnet will continue to exist after the end of the project and that the network should function as a platform to support professional development and internationalisation in the LIS field. It is planned to arrange courses and seminars within the network and to make the ProLISSA conferences a regular, biannual regional event.