As director of South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC),, Vladimir Linkov is responsible for achieving objectives as defined in its constitution; supervising and directing all activities and the day-to-day running of the institute. He was appointed full Professor at the University of the Western Cape in 1997. He initiated the first hydrogen and fuel cell research programme in South Africa, which became the foundation of the HySA National Flagship programme. SAIAMC accommodates HySA Systems Centre of Competence and as its Contract Director he is representative of the CoC Host, University of the Western Cape.