Verified
The National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) is the country’s national body for measurement standards. NMISA maintains South Africa’s national measurement standards in line with international requirements, underpinning trade, industry and scientific research, according to a provider record checked in August 2026. NMISA is based in Pretoria.
- Registered name
- National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA)
- Type
- Public entity (national measurement standards)
- Fields funded
- Electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering, materials science, physics and chemistry
- Website
- nmisa.org
- hr@nmisa.org
- Phone
- 012 841 4704
What metrology is
Metrology is the science of measurement. Every kilogram of fruit sold, every litre of fuel pumped, every electricity meter and every blood test result depends on measurements that trace back to agreed standards. NMISA keeps South Africa’s reference standards for quantities such as mass, length, time, temperature and electrical units, and for chemical and biological analysis.
NMISA’s work lets South African laboratories and manufacturers prove that their measurements match those of trading partners. Without internationally recognised measurement, exporters could struggle to show that products meet foreign specifications, and hospitals and environmental laboratories could not rely on their test results.
Why NMISA funds scientists and engineers
Maintaining national standards takes highly specialised physicists, chemists and engineers, and very few South African employers train people in metrology. NMISA’s bursaries help build that small, specialised workforce. BursariesAfrica’s earlier guide describes undergraduate and postgraduate bursaries in electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering, materials science, physics and chemistry, covering registration, tuition, books and residence, with vacation work at NMISA and an obligation to work at NMISA for one year per year funded.
An unclear current status
NMISA’s internships and bursaries page describes its bursaries but showed no current closing date when BursariesAfrica checked, and the last dated round closed on 31 July 2021. BursariesAfrica’s research tool also returned no readable text from NMISA’s website on 15 September 2026, so treat the bursary’s status as unconfirmed.
How to research NMISA
Email or phone NMISA’s human resources department to ask whether bursaries or internships will run for 2027. Read about how the kilogram was redefined in 2019 using a fundamental constant of nature rather than a physical object, a change metrology institutes worldwide worked on, and mention it if you apply. Physics and chemistry students can also ask their lecturers whether NMISA hosts postgraduate research projects.
Graduates with metrology experience also find work in calibration laboratories, mines, pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers that must prove the accuracy of their instruments.
See our CSIR bursary guide for another science council.
