Partnership introduces AI-powered research platform to South African higher education, supporting digital scholarship and research integrity.
Research Solutions, a leading provider of AI-powered scientific research tools, announced that the University of Pretoria has become the first South African institution to adopt Scite, the company’s AI-driven research platform powered by Smart Citations technology.
The University signed a three-year agreement in December 2025, establishing Research Solutions as a key player within the South African higher education sector.
The University of Pretoria’s Department of Library Services (DLS) officially launched Scite to its academic community in February 2026, hosting four sessions in the Library Auditorium with simultaneous live streaming via Zoom. The sessions drew strong attendance from researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students and professional staff across the institution.
A strategic entry into a high-growth market
South Africa’s higher education sector is undergoing rapid Digital Transformation, with institutions increasingly seeking modern, evidence-based alternatives to legacy research tools. The University of Pretoria’s adoption of Scite, following a rigorous evaluation of competing AI research platforms, reflects a deliberate shift toward greater accuracy, transparency and academic integrity in AI-assisted research workflows.
As the first university library in South Africa to adopt Scite, the University demonstrates institutional leadership in the responsible integration of AI within higher education. Research Solutions views the partnership as the cornerstone of a broader regional expansion strategy, with active engagement underway at additional South African institutions.
Why the University of Pretoria chose Scite
Before selecting Scite, the DLS conducted a thorough review of available AI research tools. The decision to partner with Research Solutions was guided by Scite’s differentiated capabilities, which directly address the limitations of both legacy citation tools and general-purpose AI platforms:
• Smart Citations: Scite analyses billions of citation statements to reveal not only where a paper is cited, but whether subsequent research supported, mentioned or contradicted its findings, enabling rapid, nuanced evaluation of evidence.
• Reduced AI hallucinations: By grounding AI responses in verified, peer-reviewed sources, Scite substantially reduces the risk of fabricated references: a critical concern for institutions with high standards of academic integrity.
• Broad coverage: Scite indexes content from a wide range of publishers and databases, ensuring relevance across disciplines.
• Research integrity support: The platform enables researchers to track how scientific claims evolve, identify retractions and assess the reliability of findings over time.
Marguerite Nel, Assistant Director: Library Technical Services, University of Pretoria, said: “The introduction of Scite marks a significant advancement in our commitment to innovation, digital scholarship and the enhancement of research impact. By providing our academic community with advanced, evidence-based AI tools, we are improving research quality and rigor, promoting responsible AI literacy and strengthening evidence-informed supervision and publishing. As the first university library in South Africa to adopt Scite, the University of Pretoria is demonstrating its leadership in the responsible integration of AI within higher education.”
Josh Nicholson, Chief Strategy Officer, Research Solutions and co-founder of Scite, said: “The University of Pretoria is setting the standard for responsible AI adoption in South African higher education. We’re honoured they chose Scite, and we’re committed to building on this partnership as we grow our presence across the region.”
AI literacy across South African higher education
Research Solutions sees the University of Pretoria partnership as the beginning of a larger mission in the region. The University’s early leadership sets a powerful precedent, and Research Solutions looks forward to building on that foundation across the South African higher education sector.
