
The 3rd USAf Higher Education Conference:
The Future of the University

Message from the USAf Chief Executive Officer
Dr Phethiwe Matutu
I am delighted to extend an invitation to you to attend the 3rd USAf Higher Education Conference that will be held on 9-11 October 2024 at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) International Convention Centre in Pretoria.
The theme for this year’s conference is “The Future of the University”. As the higher education sector, we are facing enormous challenges of sustainability in the face of slow economic growth — post-CoViD, and the impact of digitalisation on our work and careers, in general. A sluggish economy has resulted in high levels of unemployment and declining state subsidies. This happens in a context where more students in South Africa require bursary support from Government. How universities respond to these and global changes (including climate variability, adaptability and environmental sustainability) will determine not only the future of the university but that of humanity. It is imperative that universities ensure their own sustainability within this context.
AI is making waves in the world. This talks to what future universities will look like and offer. Universities must remain at the forefront of the digital revolution and map their future paths while doing so. Slow adaptation to rapid digitalisation is not the answer. The Higher Education Conference is tailored for university leaders, researchers, policymakers, educators, and industry experts. Attendees can look forward to robust discussions, engaging plenaries, interactive parallel sessions, enriching workshops and exhibitions.
Your participation is essential as we navigate the future of universities in the digital era. Register now to secure your spot and contribute to advancing higher education.
Universities South Africa (USAf) proudly presents the 3rd USAf Higher Education Conference, hosted from the 9th to the 11th of October 2024. After five years, the conference returns in person at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria.
The conference builds on the success of our inaugural conference in 2019 on “Reinventing SA’s Universities for the Future” and the innovative hybrid model of the 2021 event, “The Engaged University”. This year’s conference will delve into the pivotal theme of “The Future of the University recognising that in the light of global and local crises and unprecedented technological advancements, South African universities may well be at a turning point in history.
Unsurprisingly, there are presently numerous conferences about the future of the university. This one will be different. It is designed to be more participatory than the usual conference format; it will acknowledge and map what is unknown and what needs attention; and it will provide a strongly South African take on global trends which inevitably impact the sector. It will do so while recognising the specific local histories and context shaping the sector. Keynote speakers will be both local and global, selected to be both insightful and provocative.
Themes for the plenary sessions include “The Global Future of Universities” and “Critical Aspects Shaping the Future of Humanity in Higher Education. Tailored for a diverse audience, including university leaders, educators, researchers, policymakers, and representatives from the tertiary sector, this year’s conference will focus on actively shaping the future of higher education.
- Conference sessions
- Access to Exhibitions
- Refreshments and lunch
- Fringe events
Workshops aligned to the conference theme will be available.
CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria
Pretoria is nestled in the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountains and enjoys a reputation as an academic city and centre of research. The city is home to a diverse range of leisure facilities including the Freedom Park Heritage Site, Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Nelson Mandela Statue (Union Buildings) and the Pretoria Art Museum. A little further afield in Johannesburg is Constitution Hill and the Apartheid Museum, to mention but a few.
Registration:
Date: 22 May – 20 September 2024
Cost: R2,850.00
Daily registrations:
Date: 22 May – 20 September 2024
Cost: R950.00
Student Registration:
Date: 22 May – 20 September 2024
Cost: R700.00
Invited Speakers:
Date: 22 May – 20 September 2024
Cost: No Charge
Pre-Conference Workshops:
Date: To be confirmed
Cost: No charge
Please note the following:
- An invoice will be emailed to you after registration for payment. Payment must be received within 30 days.
- Registrations are non-transferable and payment is required to complete your registration.
- All speakers must register for the event although there is no registration fee payable for speakers.
- Payment must be made into the USAf Bank Account in South African Rand.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
EVENT DATE:
09-11 October 2024ATTENDANCE:
In person
Day 1 (9 October 2024)

Chair of Universities South Africa (USAf) Board
Professor Francis Petersen
Prof Francis W Petersen is a visionary leader in the South African higher education sector and a newly appointed Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria. He was formerly Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town. He holds a PhD in Engineering from Stellenbosch University. His international speaking engagements include prominent conferences worldwide, contributing to the global discourse on higher education and research. Currently, he is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Universities South Africa (USAf).

CEO Universities South Africa (USAf)
Dr Phethiwe Matutu
Dr Matutu has served as a member of the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa (HRDC-SA); was a Ministerial appointee in the Council of Walter Sisulu University, Ministerial Task Team responsible for drafting the Implementation Plan of the White Paper on Post-School Education and Training; is a member of the Department of Higher Education and Training Creative Outputs Reviews Panel, and Advisory Board of National Graduate Academy of Mathematics and Statistics.
Dr Phethiwe Matutu is the Group Executive: Strategy, Planning and Partnerships of the NRF. She has a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and spent 16 years in academia at various institutions including Rhodes University, Stellenbosch University and UCT. She worked at the Department of Science and Technology for nine years, where she was as Chief Director: Human Capital and Science Promotion (HC&SP), overseeing human capital development (HCD) related entities, the drafting of legislation, guiding documents and the implementation of HCD & SP programmes.
At the National Research Foundation Dr Matutu has led the development of key Planning documents for the organisation including: the NRF Vision 2030 and its five-year implementation plan, Strategy 2025, and Strategic Partnerships Strategy. She is leading the development of the ‘NRF Framework to Advance the Societal and Knowledge Impact of Research’. Under her leadership the NRF she has seen the online register of grants integrated in the business intelligence (BI) systems, leading to the soaring of the numbers of the NRF BI systems users.

Senior Special Adviser to the Minister of Higher Education and Training
Dr Clarence Tshitereke
Dr Clarence Tshitereke holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. (Cum Laude) in Development Studies and International Relations from Queen’s University at Kingston in Canada; Master of Philosophy from the University of Stellenbosch; Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Cape Town.
He is the author of The Experience of Economic Redistribution: The Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy in South Africa published in 2006 by Routledge in New York.
He has worked in the South African Government, the Private Sector and in the Academic Sector at Senior Management Levels for the last 20-years. He served as Director in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Venda.
His most senior appointment in the South African Government was as Acting Director-General. He previously served as Special Adviser to the Minster of Social Development for the period 2018 – 2019. He is currently Senior Special Adviser to the Minister of Higher Education and Training.
Deputy Chair: Universities South Africa (USAf) Board and Vice-Chancellor & Principal, Walter Sisulu University
Professor Rushiella Nolundi Songca
Professor Rushiella Nolundi Songca currently serves as the first female Vice-Chancellor and Principal at Walter Sisulu University (WSU). She obtained her BA in Law from the University of Lesotho, her LLB and LLM from the University of Natal, her LLM from Georgetown Law Centre, and an LLD degree from the University of Pretoria. She is an admitted Advocate of the High Court of South Africa.
Throughout her academic career, Professor Songca has held teaching positions at several esteemed institutions, notably the former University of Durban-Westville, the University of Natal, the former University of Transkei, the University of Limpopo, and the University of South Africa. Her scholarly pursuits have earned her recognition as an NRF-rated researcher, specialising in the domain of children’s rights. Beyond academia, Professor Songca has actively participated in numerous projects in various capacities, presently holding the position of Vice-Chairperson at Universities South Africa (USAf) and Deputy Chairperson of the Technological Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA).
Professor Songca’s scholarly engagement extends to her role as a founding member and Editorial Board member of the International Journal of African Renaissance Studies, a publication characterised by its multi-inter-disciplinary approach. Her academic output encompasses authored book chapters, journal articles, editorial roles within scholarly journals and reviewing for the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Beyond her academic endeavours, Professor Songca has made substantial contributions to the South African legal landscape. She has provided submissions to
the South African Law Reform Commission and authored technical reports for esteemed institutions, including the Parliament of South Africa, the Public Protector, the Human Rights Commission, and the House of Traditional Leaders.

Director: School of African and Oriental Studies – University of London
Professor Adam Habib
Professor Adam Habib is the Vice Chancellor (formerly Director) of SOAS University of London. Prior to this, he was the Principal and Vice Chancellor of University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg from 2013 – 2020. He has served as the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research at the University of Johannesburg, and Professor of Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
A Professor of Political Science, Habib has over 30 years of academic, research and administration expertise, spanning five universities and multiple local and international institutions. His professional involvement in institutions has always been defined by three distinct engagements: the contest of ideas, their translation into actionable initiatives, and the building of institutions.
Habib is the former chair of Universities South Africa, a body that represents vice-chancellors and higher education in the country, and co-founder of the African Research Universities Alliance, a network of research universities from different countries and historical backgrounds with a common vision – to enhance research and graduate training in Africa.
Habib’s contributions resulted in his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in addition to serving as a fellow of both the African Academy of Science and the Academy of Science of South Africa. He also serves on the Council of the United Nations University.
University of the Witwatersrand, UNESCO Chair in Teaching and Learning
Professor Ruksana Osman
Professor Ruksana Osman is the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the University of the Witwatersrand. In this position she is responsible for the broad coordination of the academic project across all divisions of the University. The five faculty deans report to her, and she oversees the University’s online and blended-learning academic strategy.
Prior to this appointment, she served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Advancement, Human Resources and Transformation, as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and as the Head of the School of Education. Her experience in higher education, and her 40-year association with Wits University therefore spans the full range of roles at all levels of institutional management, governance, and leadership. These have included internally- and externally facing foci on enabling staff capacitation, directing the academic project, intellectual leadership, fundraising, contributing to policy development and implementation, and being centrally involved in institutional strategy development.
A Professor of Education, Prof. Osman has extensive teaching and research experience in the field of teacher education and higher education. She has an established reputation for impactful scholarly work in the broad fields of higher education policy, pedagogy and students’ lived experiences of equity and access to higher education. She is known for the connections she has made between research centred and research led approaches to learning and teaching and the transformative practices of learning contexts like schools and universities.
Prof. Osman holds the UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education for Diversity and Development and has established a global network to support the research and development work of the Chair. She is widely published in the academic and popular press, and is the author or co-author of multiple papers, journal articles and books. She is the co-editor of Research-led teacher education: Case studies of possibilities (2012); Large Class Pedagogy: Interdisciplinary perspectives for quality higher education (2013); Service Learning in South Africa (2013); Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Towards a Socially Just Pedagogy in a global context (2017); Teacher Education for Diversity: Conversations from the Global South (2018) and pedagogical responsiveness in complex contexts (2022).
Outside of South Africa, Professor Osman has been at the forefront of building several transnational partnerships particularly with UK, European and African universities. She has spearheaded Wits’ partnership in several strategic academic initiatives including the Diversifying the Academy programmes, the Wits Edinburg Sustainable African Futures (WESAF) doctoral program, the AFRETEC (African Engineering and Technology) network that aims to drive digital transformation on the African continent, The Future Materials Project which involves collaborating with a number of global universities working on the social, engineering and scientific problems in the future of mining and the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) on collaborative doctoral degree programs. An elected member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa, Professor Osman is recognised for the quality and relevance of her work in higher education as a teacher and researcher in pursuit of socially-just education.

Brasilia University, UNESCO Chair in Distance Education
Professor Tel Amiel
Tel Amiel is an adjunct professor at the School of Education at the University of Brasília (Brazil) where he coordinates the UNESCO Chair in Distance Education, part of the UNITWIN Network in Open Education. He teaches in the Masters in Leadership in Open Education program at the University of Nova Gorica (Slovenia). He is the co-founder of the Open Education Initiative, an activist research group. More information can be found at: https://amiel.net.br
Tel Amiel completed his PhD in Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. He is currently professor at the School of Education at the University of Brasilia where he coordinates the UNESCO Chair in Distance Education. He was previously coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Open Education (Unicamp, 2014-2018). He was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Wollongong and Stanford University, and a visiting professor at Utah State University. His interests in the area of open education and educational technology, with particular focus on schooling and teacher professional development.
Director of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) South Africa
Professor Ulrich Paquet
Prof. Ulrich Paquet, the Director of AIMS South Africa, holds a PhD in Machine Learning from the University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory and previously worked at several tech companies such as Microsoft, where he co-developed the core of Xbox recommender system, a startup VocallQ and Apple post VocalIQ’s acquisition.
He is a South African artificial intelligence and machine learning veteran, with over 20 years’ experience and holds a dual position as a Research Scientist at Deepmind, the world’s leading centre for research in artificial intelligence.
He is the co-founder of “The Deep Learning Indaba”, an organisation whose mission is to strengthen machine learning and artificial intelligence in Africa. To date events have been organised in 33 African countries.
Senior Lecturer: Education and Coordinator: New Generation of Academics Programme, Rhodes University
Dr Mandy Hlengwa
Mandy lectures and coordinates the Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education. She also coordinates the following programmes: New Generation of Academic Programme, Nurturing Emerging Scholars Programme and Rhodes Mentoring Programme for early career academics.
Mandy is passionate about higher education. She sees her contribution to the field of higher education studies emerging primarily from two areas. Curriculum development concerns, with particular focus on the relationship between disciplinary knowledge and teaching and learning. The second contribution is linked to her role as the coordinator of three early career programmes for Rhodes University.
Researcher and Educationist Consultant in Digital Education, United Kingdom
Dr Helen Beetham
Dr Helen Beetham is a researcher and consultant in digital education. She has edited a number of standard texts and published in peer reviewed journals on topics from digital literacy to surveillance pedagogies and feminist educational technology.
Helen has advised major universities in the UK, Europe, Africa and Australasia on their digital education strategy, and has worked for international bodies such as the EU and UNESCO. Since 2004 she has played a leading role in Jisc programmes on digital learning
Her Digital Capabilities framework is widely used in UK HE and beyond. Helen is currently completing a book on ‘Teaching digital subjects: critical capabilities in the digital university’.
Senior Lecturer and Chair, Centre for Ethics at Uganda Martyrs University
Dr Albert Luswata
Dr. Albert Luswata is a Senior Lecturer and Chair, Centre for Ethics at Uganda Martyrs University where he also previously served as Director of the Institute of Ethics and Development Studies. He is a Fulbright alumnus, an INASP Associate and member of the AI and Faith org. He has been involved in training of Faculty in transformative teaching and learning as well as online pedagogy across African universities through various projects such as the PedaL, TESCEA and GESP projects through the UK Aid.
Vice-Chancellor & Principal, Central University of Technology – CUP
Professor Pamela Dube
Professor Dube is an accomplished international leader in academia, having attained numerous qualifications from various national and international universities. She is also the first woman to hold the position of Vice-Chancellor and Principal at CUT and the first female Vice-Chancellor and Principal in the Free State.
Before joining CUT, Professor Dube held the executive leadership role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development and Support at the University of Western Cape (UWC), where she was responsible for a transformative student experience, student well-being and academic success. Her career stretches from lecturer and researcher at the University of Siegen in Germany, lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, guest lecturer at Kathmandu university in Nepal, Dean of Student Affairs at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) to Director and Acting Chief Director at the National Department of Education, and Head of Human Resources Development and International Relations at the South African Nuclear Energy Cooperation. She was also the Special Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
Professor Dube has lived and worked in Germany after completing her doctoral degree. Prof. Dube’s PhD focused on postcolonial literature, orality and the new media, intersectionality and gender studies, communication and cultural studies. She has published in a number of international peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings. She serves on a number of higher education bodies as a Trustee, including the Claude Leon Foundation and serves both as Chair of the USAF Transformation Strategy Group, and member of the USAF Leadership and Management Strategy Group and represents university leadership on the board of the University Sports Company / USC.
Associate Professor: Sociology and Anthropology, Nelson Mandela University
Professor Nomalanga Mkhize
Professor Nomalanga Mkhize is a history lecturer at the Nelson Mandela University. She is also the Director of the School of Governmental and Social Sciences which is home to four departments and 6 disciplines. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cape Town and an MA in History from Rhodes University. Her research has been in African language historical literatures and their significance for South Africa’s academic traditions of historiography. She has served on the board of the National Research Foundation and currently sits on the board of the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Rhodes University. Mkhize is also a member of the Nelson Mandela University Council.
Economics Professor: Stellenbosch University
Professor Stan du Plessis
Stan du Plessis is a macroeconomist at Stellenbosch University where he is Chief Operating Officer and formerly Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. He is also a Professor in the Department of Economics where he is a specialist in Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy. He has collaborated with the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury on macroeconomic policy research. He studied at the Universities of Cambridge and Stellenbosch as well as the Wharton Business School and is a former President of the Economic Society of South Africa. Stan has published in the following fields within Economics including Macroeconomics, Monetary economics, Fiscal policy, International finance, Economic history, Inequality as well as History, Philosophy, and Public Theology. His latest book “Reconsidering Central Bank Independence” was published by Cambridge University Press in 2024.
He serves on several corporate boards, including Capitec Bank where he is a non-executive director. He was elected as a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) in 2022
Head: Corporate Citizenship, Standard Bank South Africa
Dr Kirston Greenop
Head Corporate Citizenship, Standard Bank South Africa
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) (Masters) (Psychology), University of the Witwatersrand
PhD (Psychology), University of the Witwatersrand
Business and Sustainability Programme, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
Post-graduate Diploma in Non-Financial Risk, Henley Business School, 2023
Kirston is currently the Head of Corporate Citizenship at Standard Bank South Africa (SBSA) in the area of Risk. She is a member of the bank’s executive committee and reports to the SBSA CEO and CRO. She is responsible for SBSA’s engagement with government, regulator and civil society stakeholders on policy, regulatory and positive impact matters. This includes ensuring SBSA’s role as a responsible corporate citizen in engaging with South Africa’s policy and legislative developments, trade association engagements, ensuring appropriate and constructive engagement with stakeholders, managing reputational matters, leadership in the bank’s positive impact strategy, as well as corporate social responsibility.
She joined SBSA in 2020, and was previously the head of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at Mindset Network NPO, and before that spent 10 years in the Department of Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand. In the latter role she undertook and supervised research to a PhD level.
Head of Portfolio: Regularity Audit representing the Auditor General
Dr Thamsanqa Zikode
Dr Thamsanqa ‘Thami’ Zikode is the head of portfolio for regularity audits at the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA). He oversees the various business units that are responsible for key audits across South Africa. An ethical, strategic and solution-driven leader, Dr Zikode is a seasoned public sector auditor with more than 20 years of audit experience spanning across the public, private and international sectors. His contribution in the public sector is characterised by his unwavering efforts in raising substantial non-compliance matters that drew public interest and eventually landed in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry. His experience saw him lead teams in various executive roles focusing on effecting internal financial and risk analysis controls and ensuring compliance with the regulations such as PFMA, MFMA, Treasury Regulations and more.
He is a qualified chartered accountant CA(SA) and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Stellenbosch, a Masters in Philosophy (Management) (MPhil) and a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the Universidad Católica de Murcia in Spain.
Rising up the ranks at the AGSA from a senior manager in 2010 to business executive in 2013, he joined the SABC as the chief audit executive in 2017, where he was instrumental in revitalising internal controls and governance processes as well as working with executives in turning around the public entity, before returning to the AGSA in 2022. Today he oversees the business units that are responsible for the audits of major state-owned entities like Transnet, Eskom, South African Airways, and other departments and entities including Defence, Home Affairs, Basic and Higher Education, Correctional Services, UIF, Sassa, Setas and the Compensation Fund, among others.
Day 2 (10 October 2024)
Chair of the USAf Admissions Committee and Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University
Professor Sizwe Mabizela
Sizwe Mabizela is the Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University and a Professor of Mathematics. Prior to assuming this position in November 2014, he served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic & Student Affairs at Rhodes University from 2008 to 2014.
Mabizela’s research interests are in Approximation Theory and Applied Functional Analysis. He received his PhD in Mathematics from Pennsylvania State University in 1991. He has authored and co-authored a number of research papers which have been published in international journals. He has also presented a number of keynote/invited addresses at national and international conferences.
Between 1992 and 2003, Mabizela was an academic in the Department of Pure & Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town, where he rose through the academic ranks to the level of Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Department. In 2004 he was offered and accepted a Chair in Mathematics at Rhodes University.
For a number of years, Mabizela was a member of the South African Mathematics Olympiad Committee. In July 2014, he Chaired the 55th International Mathematics Olympiad which was held at the University of Cape Town, the first time this international mathematics competition had ever been held under the African sky.
Mabizela served as a member of South Africa’s Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, Umalusi, from 2006 to 2014, and serving as the Chairperson of the Council from 2010 to 2014. Mabizela has also served on a number of Ministerial Advisory committees and Task Teams on various aspects of education.
Politician and former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
Dr Naledi Pandor
Born on 7 December 1953, Dr Pandor is South Africa’s former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation from 2019-2024. She was part of the ministerial team of the cabinet of South Africa that initiated the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Dr Pandor became an MP in 1994 and has amassed impressive experience in positions of public office, including Deputy chief whip of the ANC in the National Assembly from 1995 to 1998, served as the Deputy chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in 1998, and its chairperson from 1999-2004.
Dr Pandor’s experience in education policy planning made her a welcome appointment as South Africa’s Minister of Education in 2004. She has been a member of cabinet ever since, and has served her country in the following portfolios:
Minister of Education (2004-2009):
Minister of Science and Technology (2009-2012).
Minister of Home Affairs (2012-2014).
Minister of Science and Technology (2014-2018); and
Minister of Higher Education and Training (2018-19).
Dr Pandor has a PhD from the University of Pretoria (2019) and honorary doctorates from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Stellenbosch, and the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and the University College Dublin in Ireland.
Upon being awarded Germany’s highest federal award, the Grand Cross of Merit, the German Ambassador to South Africa, Walter Lindner, said: “Pandor is for us a symbol of the new South Africa: modern, innovative, dedicated to scientific progress and also outstanding female leadership”.
Dr Pandor is married to Mr Sharif Pandor and have four children and seven grandchildren.
Independent Scholar and Higher Education Strategist
Ms Anne-Marie Scott
An effective leader with over 2 decades of experience in Higher Education. I have a proven track record in delivering high-value institutional change with long term sustainability. I work to foster a culture of creativity and innovation and am a trusted partner for collaboration within and beyond the organisations I have worked with. I work as openly as possible and have a long-standing commitment to open practices, open source, and open licensing of educational resources.
I have a strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and decolonisation, demonstrated through a focus on accessibility and inclusion in my work, and participation in a range of mentoring arrangements.
Rector of the United Nations University – Japan
Professor Tshilidzi Marwala
Nationality: South Africa
Educational Background:
PhD: Artificial Intelligence and Engineering, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
Master of Mechanical Engineering: University of Pretoria (South Africa)
BS: Mechanical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University (USA)
Professional Background:
2018–2023: Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)
2013–2017: Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalization, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)
2009–2013: Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)
2003–2008: Associate Professor and Full Professor, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
2001–2003: Executive Assistant to the Technical Director, South African Breweries
Prof. Marwala has been a visiting scholar/professor at universities in the USA, the UK, China, and South Africa. He has extensive academic, policy, management, and international experience, and is a co-holder of five patents. His research has been multi-disciplinary, involving the theory and applications of artificial intelligence to engineering, social science, economics, politics, finance, and medicine. He has served on a variety of global and national policymaking bodies and has worked with such United Nations entities as UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, and WIPO.
Prof. Marwala is, inter alia, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The World Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Science of South Africa, and the African Academy of Sciences.
Among the awards that Prof. Marwala has received are the Order of Mapungubwe (South Africa’s highest honour) and the Academy of South Africa’s Science-for-Society Gold Medal. He was named the 2021 IT Personality of the Year by the Institute of IT Professionals South Africa.
For more information about Prof. Marwala and the United Nations University, visit the UNU website at www.unu.edu.
Chair of Universities South Africa’s (USAf) World of Work Strategy Group and VC & Principal: Durban University of Technology
Professor Thandwa Mthembu
Thandwa Mthembu assumed the position of Vice-Chancellor & Principal of Durban University of Technology (DUT) on 1 October 2016, after serving almost 10 years in a similar position at Central University of Technology (CUT), South Africa.
A PhD in mathematics from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) by formal education, he has published mathematics papers in international journals and is co-author of a monograph in approximation theory. His scholarship has diversified into other fields including higher education management, in which he has published.
Nationally, he currently serves on the Boards of the South African Technology Network, re-named Technological Higher Education Network: South Africa (since 2007, and as Chairman between 2010 and 2014); Universities: South Africa (since 2007, as Chairman, 2018-2019 and as Chair: World of Work Strategy Group since 2022), Synthecon Sutures Manufacturing Board (as non-executive director since 2006). He served as Deputy Chairman from 2019 to 2022 at the Umgeni Water Board. Internationally, he has served as the Regional Chairman: Southern Africa, of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) between 2011 and 2021.

Deputy Director of the Centre for the Future of Work (CFoW) and a Senior Lecturer in strategy at the University of Pretoria.
Dr Olebogeng Selebi
Dr Olebogeng Selebi is Deputy Director of the Centre for the Future of Work (CFoW) and a Senior Lecturer in strategy at the University of Pretoria. She believes in the use of research-based, academically sound, real-world education strategies that facilitate societal development by getting to the root of stakeholder expectations and delivering mutually-beneficial solutions. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at Momentum FundsAtWork (overseeing various funds), as well as a member of the Board of Directors at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Dr Selebi completed a PhD in Communication Management from the University of Pretoria.
Director for the Wits Centre for Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
Dr McEdward Murimbika
Dr. Murimbika is the Director for the Wits Centre for Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation and senior faculty at the Wits Business School, https://www.wbs.ac.za, the Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He has three decades experience as both an entrepreneur, business development advisory practitioner and scholar in the fields of entrepreneurship and new venture creation, strategic management. He is also a globally ranked professional archaeologist. Dr. Murimbika is a multi-disciplinary scholar and strategic entrepreneurship and management professional with experience derived from the Emerging African Economies (EAE) in the fields of Exponential & Emerging Technologies Convergence, Global Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial leadership, and business applied research. He is a distinguished academic and holds dual doctorates in Management and Archaeology as well as multiple master’s degrees and multi-disciplinary postgraduate qualifications in palaeopathology, entrepreneurship, higher education, among others.
He is a World Ranked AD Scientific Index Scholar https://www.adscientificindex.com/?country_code=za&q=McEdward+Murimbika He currently lectures in innovation and technology entrepreneurship, new venture creation entrepreneurship and strategic management modules at master’s in management, MBA, Executive Education as well as supervising PhD, Masters and MBA research candidates at Wits Business School of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He has a portfolio of entrepreneurial ventures created and developed over more than two decades, a period during which has also occupied senior executive management and founding partnerships and directorship positions in multiple ventures and a collective of multidiscipline specialist management consultancy firms. Dr Murimbika has lived, worked and studied across the globe including the USA, South Africa, UK, India, Norway, Kenya, Belgium, Zimbabwe, France, Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia, Spain, Germany, etc. He has developed a portfolio of international institutional guest scholarships including the World Economic Forum, British Institute in East Africa; the World Bank (Washington, USA) and some African governments national business delegations and scientific missions to the EU and the UN missions.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcedward-murimbika-533a87a/
Email: mcedward.murimbika@wits.ac.za
Chief Executive Officer: Student Village
Mr Ronen Aires
Youth expert, global speaker and best-selling author. Ronen is passionate about a lot of things after a good cup of coffee. As co-founder of Student Village, South Africa’s most prominent student marketing and graduate development specialists, Ronen has dedicated much of his career to supporting youth and guiding them towards their greatness. His preferred title? Young Elder.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at University of Witwatersrand
Professor Lynn Morris
Lynn Morris is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at Wits University and is an A-rated, internationally recognised scientist with demonstrable experience in research management and leadership. She is a Research Professor in the School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits and an Honorary Senior Scientist at the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA).
Morris completed her undergraduate studies at Wits University and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. She was previously the interim Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and led the NICD through two major health crises, the listeria outbreak of 2017/8 and the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. She serves on various national and international advisory bodies including the International Scientific Advisory Committee of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town, the WHO Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing, and the Duke Consortia for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development.
Internationally recognised for her work in understanding the antibody response to HIV, Lynn has published 270 journal articles, 11 book chapters and has registered five patents and 11 scientific opinions. She has been included in the Web of Science list of the most highly cited researchers in the world and has supervised numerous postgraduate and postdoctoral students. She is a member of Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), the Royal Society of South Africa (FRSSA) and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).
Globally critically acclaimed, Prof. Morris won the Wits Vice-Chancellor’s Research Award in 2014, the South African Medical Research Council’s Gold Medal in 2015, the prestigious Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award in 2017, and the World Academy of Sciences Prize in Medical Sciences in 2018.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation & Engagement, Tshwane University of Technology
Dr Vathiswa Papu-Zamxaka
Dr. Vathi Papu-Zamxaka is a research and innovation leader currently serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Engagement at Tshwane University of Technology. She holds a PhD degree in Public Health from London South Bank University in the United Kingdom and a Master of Science degree in Public Health from the University of Umeå in Sweden. She has recently been awarded a certificate of completion for the Leading in Artificial Intelligence: Exploring Technology and Policy Program at Harvard University in the United States of America. She worked at the Medical Research Council as a Senior Scientist, and as a Project Director for Microbicide Trials Network at Perinatal HIV Research Unit. She later joined the National Research Foundation as a Director for Applied Research & Innovation Grants and subsequently took a position of Director for Reviews & Evaluation. She then moved to a multinational research company, Synexus Clinical Research, where she served as the Country Director, overseeing South Africa, Uganda & Tanzania.
Whilst in private sector, she served as the Board member for the National Research Foundation and for Sci-Bono Discovery Centre. She is currently serving as a Board member for Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a Pharmaceutical company, based in Cape Town. As a passionate Scientist, she has been featured on several magazines and has been interviewed by several radio & TV stations on science matters. She conceptualised and produced a TV show, profiling Scientists in the country, which she hosted on DSTV, channel 265.
She joined TUT as the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation & Engagement in November 2020.
Professor Emeritus: Wits and Chair: Strategy and Steering Committee, National Graduate Academy for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences NGA(MaSS)
Professor Loyiso Nongxa
Loyiso Nongxa is a South African mathematician, the current Chairperson of the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) and a former Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits).
Nongxa was born on 22 October 1953[3] in Mhlanga near Lady Frere, Eastern Cape in what was then the Transkei. Both of his parents were qualified teachers, and his father was a school principal, although his mother remained at home to raise the family. Nongxa did well at school and matriculated from Healdtown College with distinction as the top matric student in South Africa in 1972.[4] Nongxa was accepted at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) thereafter and obtained a BSc (Hons) in 1976. While at UFH, he also played for the University’s “Baa-bas” rugby team. After obtaining a MSc from UFH in 1978, he became South Africa’s first Black Rhodes scholar, and he obtained a D.Phil. from Oxford University in 1982, where he holds the title of Honorary Fellow (Balliol College).
Nongxa has lectured mathematics at UFH, the National University of Lesotho, the University of Natal and the University of the Western Cape (UWC). At UWC, he held the post of Professor of Mathematics, and he was later appointed Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. He had also been a visiting research scholar at the universities of Colorado, Harvard, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Baylor.He was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at Wits in October 2000, and Vice-Principal in April 2002. Following the resignation of Professor Norma Reid Birley in November 2002, he became Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University. The University Council then shortlisted him as one of the possible candidates for the position of Vice-Chancellor, and on 19 May 2003 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor by the Council. Nongxa was the first black Vice-Chancellor of Wits. He was succeeded as Vice-Chancellor by Adam Habib on 1 June 2013.
Besides his positions at universities, Nongxa has also served as a member of the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, the SAUVCA Research Committee and various National Research Foundation of South Africa committees. Since leaving Wits, he has taken up to post of Chairperson of the NRF.Nongxa was elected Vice-President of the International Mathematical Union in July 2018.
Director: Global Partnerships, University Design Institute, Arizona State University (ASA), United States of America
Dr Maria Toshkova
Experienced professional dedicated to leading transformational initiatives at the intersection of education, workforce development, healthcare innovation, and sustainability. My career is marked by a deep commitment to creating pathways for skilled workforce empowerment, enhancing educational outcomes, driving healthcare access and quality, and advancing climate resilience and sustainable practices.
My extensive experience in forging multi-sector partnerships has enabled me to collaborate effectively with U.S. and international government entities, industry, academic, and nonprofit organizations. These collaborations are driven by a strong passion to overcome development challenges that are both complex and critical to our collective future. My keen understanding of policy implications, strategic program implementation, and entrepreneurial spirit help me stay focused on driving innovation and impactful change.

Executive Director for People and Culture, North-West University
Professor Mala Singh
Respondent on “Strategic Repositioning and Effective People Planning for a Sustainable Future in the University.”
It is my great pleasure to introduce our distinguished speaker, Professor Mala Singh, who will be a respondent on the topic: “Strategic Repositioning and Effective People Planning for a Sustainable Future in the University.”
Professor Singh currently serves as Executive Director for People and Culture and also served as a Commissioner within the South African Police Service. She is widely recognized for her expertise in leadership, with a strong academic foundation that includes a Doctorate in Educational Psychology. Her research interests span leadership, coaching, and organizational transformation, positioning her as a transformational leader.
With over four decades of experience, Professor Singh has consistently pushed the boundaries of leadership, guiding individuals and organizations through times of change and uncertainty. Her deep understanding of the human element in leadership allows her to foster a mindset that embraces change, equipping teams and individuals with the tools to navigate transitions confidently.
We are honored to welcome her as she responds to the topic.
Managing Director of Rosebank College, South Africa
Dr Linda Meyer
Dr Linda Meyer is the Managing Director at IIE Rosebank College. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (RSA), Doctor of Business Administration (USA), Master of Business Administration (UK), Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies (UK), BCom (Law), BBA and several other Diplomas, Higher Certificates and professional certifications.
A serving member of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Board and Audit and Risk Committee, the QCTO-Occupational Qualifications, Assessment and Certification Committee (OQACC), and the CHE Community of Practice on Leadership and Governance.
Dr Meyer served on various governance structures (past and present), including the South African Magistrates Commission, South African Qualifications Authority, Higher-Health, Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Services SET A, SA SMME Foundation, South African Private Higher Education (SAPHE), DHET, ETDP SETA.
Former positions include Head of Operations at Universities South Africa (USAf), Head of Justice College (DoJ&CD), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Executive Dean, Dean, Academic Executive, Acting Deputy Director General, Chief Director, CCMA Commissioner, various other senior executive management and consulting positions. A published author, thought leader, regular media guest, and speaker at industry conferences.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic of the University of the Western Cape
Professor Vivienne Lawack
Professor Viviane Lawack is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the University of the Western Cape. She is also a Professor of Law in the Department of Mercantile and Labour Law in the Faculty of Law at UWC and serves on a number of boards and councils.
Professor Lwack holds a BJuris (cum laude), a LLB (cum laude) and a LLM from Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth. She also holds a LLD from UNISA. She is an admitted, non-practicing advocate of the High Court of South Africa. Professor Lawack began and advanced her legal career by spending a number of years at the South African Reserve Bank in various capacities. In 2008, she moved to the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth where she served as the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law.
Professor Lawack joined UWC on 1 April 2015 and in her capacity as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UWC, she is currently leading UWC’s academic project in relation to its learning and teaching activities at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She is an expert in law, economics and the intersection of the two fields, both at an international level and in the South African context.
As regards her academic career, Professor Lawack has published extensively, including numerous articles, reports and contributions to chapters in books. She has. also delivered papers at conferences, both locally and internationally. Her field of academic research is in the legal and regulatory frameworks pertaining to the payment system, banking system and financial markets in South Africa. Professor Lawack is highly engaged in her community, regularly chairing and/or participating in various committees in the legal, financial and education sectors, leveraging her expertise to add value and push her community to greater heights.
Chief Executive Officer: Mashauri
Professor Simon Gifford
Simon is Chief Executive Officer of Mashauri Limited, an entrepreneurial education platform designed to support universities and other institutions in offering experiential entrepreneurial education to their students. He has been involved in the creation and growth of several other new ventures and acts as an advisor to a number of early-stage companies.
He also has more than three decades experience supporting multinationals and public sector organisations in addressing their strategic issues, through his own consulting company (Genesis); and while a global partner at Deloitte Consulting. Furthermore, he is an adjunct professor at the prestigious IE Business School in Madrid and lectures on strategy and entrepreneurship around the world.
He has degrees in statistics, economics and marketing and an MBA from UCT.
Senior Director of Institutional Strategy at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha.
Professor Heather Nel
Professor Heather Nel is the Senior Director of Institutional Strategy at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha. In this capacity, she oversees institutional strategy and supports evidence-informed decision-making. She oversees the Office for Institutional Strategy, which reports directly to the Vice-Chancellor and serves as a hub of institutional strategy, data analytics, institutional research, and monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
Professor Nel obtained her PhD in Public Administration and Management in 1999 from Nelson Mandela University (formerly the University of Port Elizabeth). She accumulated more than ten years of academic experience as the Programme Leader for the Masters’ and Doctoral qualifications in Public Administration and Management at the University.
Professor Nel has been leading institutional strategy at Mandela University since the merger in 2005 and assisted the Vice-Chancellor and senior management in crafting the University’s Vision 2030 decadal strategy and conducting a transversal organisational redesign process. She has published widely and presented papers at national and international conferences on higher education, leadership and strategy, organisational change and complexity, curriculum responsiveness, and graduate employability.
Director: Office of Inclusivity and Change, University of Cape Town – UCT
Dr Sianne Alves
Dr Sianne Alves has worked nationally in multisectoral partnerships that are dedicated towards preventing and responding to oppression and social justice.
Currently, her research area focuses on the conceptualisation of governance and management systems that amplify the voice and agency of previously marginalised and oppressed communities. As the Director of the Office for Inclusivity & Change (OIC), she focuses on evidence-led praxis to provide transformation, diversity and inclusion strategies that are relevant for both the youth and adult community within the university. Focal areas led within the OIC consist of anti-racism strategies, gender equity, parity and education (including GBV) and inclusion strategies. The OIC provides disability inclusion solutions, survivor support, restorative justice programmes, capacity building and culture change approaches that seek to reduce oppression and inequality. Sianne is a Section 11 Advisor to the South African Human Rights Commission focusing on a National Curriculum for Diversity and Inclusion.
Director of the NEMISA KZN e-Skills CoLab at the Durban University of Technology
Professor Colin Thakur
Colin Thakur is a Professor in ICT at the Durban University of Technology. He also heads the Short Course Unit and is the InSETA Research Chair: Digitalisation. Colin was the Vice-Chairman (4 years) and Chairman (2 years) of the KZN Chapter of The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) and the national treasurer for one year. He has served on the inaugural Complaints and Compliance Commission of ICASA. Thakur’s doctoral studies in ICT elevated him to an international level in e-voting.
He has since consulted for the Electoral Commission, The UNPD and several countries. He prolifically writes for the media and delivers a popular seminars on “Online Netiquette” and 4IR topics. He supervises Masters and PhD students in a range of disciplines from ICT to Management Science and Journalism.
Chief Executive Officer of Ilitha Telecommunications
Mr Vuyani Jarana
Vuyani is a seasoned business transformation leader with over 25 years of ICT experience, most of which he spent within the Vodacom Group, where he held various positions, including a Group Chief Operating Officer and a Chief Executive Officer for Vodacom Business.
He is the ex-CEO of South Africa Airways. Vuyani has extensive experience in doing business in the African Continent. As a development activist, he always looks at the most appropriate ways to apply mobile and digital technologies to address some of the most challenging and stubborn social issues facing the African continent.
He is a founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ilitha Telecommunications, a company with a mission to provide superfast affordable broadband to peri-urban and rural communities. He is the chairperson of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) a lead development agency charged with the responsibility to drive economic growth in the province.
He is also the Chairperson of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a key research institution driving the country’s scientific, industrial and technology innovation.
Senior Lecturer, Ethics, Gordon Institute of Business Science
Professor Kerrin Myres
Prof Kerrin Myres has founded two social enterprises and two for-profit enterprises, as well as mentoring countless entrepreneurs during the start-up and growth phases of their businesses.
In addition to her entrepreneurial experience, Prof Myres has worked for a variety of private, public, and non-profit enterprises across sub-Saharan Africa. She has over 35 years of experience providing research, consulting, and advisory services to businesses at all stages of development in a wide range of industries. Her doctoral thesis focussed on the unconventional start-up processes of entrepreneurs in South Africa, while her current research focuses on the behaviour of everyday entrepreneurs in the developing country context.
Prof Myres lectures in Entrepreneurship, Qualitative Research Methodology and supervises research at master’s and doctoral level.

Chartered Coach: Centre for Entrepreneurship, Tshwane University of Technology
Ms Elona Ndlovu
Elona is a distinguished consultant with over 20 years of international experience in Southern Africa, the UK, USA, Canada, and Ireland. She is dedicated to purpose, planning, and legacy building, aiding entrepreneurs, business leaders, executives, and professionals in reaching their goals and building their legacies. She is an Institute of Coaching Affiliate at Harvard Medical School, member of ABCCCP and COMENSA.
Academic and Professional Achievements
Elona’s academic journey is marked by her pursuit of a PhD at Wits Business School, focusing on Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Coaching, and Business Incubation in South Africa. She holds a Master of Science in International Management (merit) from the University of Liverpool, and an Advanced Diploma and Diploma in Life, Executive & Business Coaching from LECI (Ireland), awarded with merit and distinction, respectively. Her qualifications also include a BCom (Hons) in Industrial Psychology from UWC and a BSocsci in Labour Studies, Organisational Psychology, and Human Resource Management from UCT. She is a registered Psychometrist with the HPCSA.
Entrepreneurial and Business Development
Elona serves as Vice President for Small Businesses at the African Entrepreneurs Council (AEC), where she leads the development of innovative Entrepreneurship Programs, focusing on Enterprise and Supplier Development. Her work involves crafting Entrepreneurial Coaching initiatives and steering Research & Development portfolios for evidence-based practice. As a facilitator and coach at The Innovation Hub CoachLab, Johannesburg Business School Centre for Entrepreneurship, and TUT Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, Elona contributes to curriculum development, workshops, and personalized coaching. She supports entrepreneurship initiatives in partnership with esteemed institutions.
Human Resources Expertise
As the founder and lead coach at BizPreneur, Elona directs a team of over fifteen coaches, delivering growth strategies and organisational training workshops. She has been instrumental in enhancing business and professional growth through executive coaching, team interventions, and Diversity and Inclusion workshops. Her consultancy skills are rooted in extensive knowledge of business dynamics and people management.
Community Engagement and Professional Recognition
Elona is an advocate for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on Quality Education (SDG 4) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17). She has held leadership roles in COMENSA, including as National Research Portfolio Committee Chair, and serves on the Board of Directors for Dinaledi Educational Coaching. Her professional memberships include the HPCSA, GSAEC, ABCCCP, ISDS, and SAIMS. Elona has also been recognised for her contributions to coaching and sustainable development, showcasing her dedication to empowering individuals and communities.
Clients and Partners
Elona’s extensive experience includes coaching executives and teams from prestigious organisations such as Auditor-General South Africa, ABSA, Capfin, FETOLA, Engen, PWC, FNB, GEMS, Radisson Blu, The Innovation Hub, and many others. Elona’s career is a testament to her unwavering commitment to positive societal change, entrepreneurial growth, and sustainable development.
Director: Research, University of the Western Cape
Professor Rachael Jesika Singh
Prof Rachael Jesika Singh works at the University of the Western Cape as Director: Research Development and Postgraduate Support. Her focus area is on Research Development of staff and postgraduate students. She has a doctorate in teacher education from the University of Johannesburg. Her career in education spans over 32 years. In basic education, she has worked as a teacher, head of department, deputy principal and principal. In higher education and training, she has worked as a senior lecturer in Geography Education; a Head of Department in Languages and Social Sciences; Research Developer; Director of Research; and as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Partnerships. Her publications are in the field of teacher education. She is widely published; has edited journal volumes and is a supervisor of masters and PhD students. She is particularly dedicated to promoting women in research and management. She is the winner of the following awards:
- 2022 DVC of the Year Award for Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE).
- Continental Winner: CEO Global Pan African Most Influential Women Award in the category: Education and Training – Academic. 2020.
- Country Winner: CEO Global Pan African Most Influential Women Award in the category: Education and Training – Academic. 2019.
- SADC South Regional Winner: CEO Global Pan African Most Influential Women Award in the category: Education and Training – Academic. 2019.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Embassy of France – decorated with the Mérite Agricole (The Order of Agricultural Merit). 2019.
Research Professor: Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at the University of the Free State (UFS).
Professor Corli Witthuhn
Professor Corli Witthuhn was appointed as a research professor in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at the University of the Free State (UFS) in April 2023. Previously, she was the Vice-Rector: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS from April 2013 to March 2023. Her academic career started in the Department of Food Science at Stellenbosch University (SU) in 1999 after she completed a PhD in Microbiology at the UFS. She was chair of the Department of Food Science at SU from 2005 until 2009 when she accepted the position of Vice Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences at SU.
She then returned to the UFS and was appointed as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in 2011, before she took up the position of Vice-Rector. Her research interests include the rapid detection and identification of microbes in foods. She has a keen interest in pathogenic and spoilage microbes in the South African food processing environment, as well as food fermentation and its possible anti-microbial effects on food-borne pathogens such as Mycobacterium bovis. She has published more than 70 international peer-reviewed scientific papers and has trained 7 doctoral and 26 masters students.

Senior Manager, Next Generation and Emerging Researchers, National Research Foundation
Dr Thelma Louw
Dr Mbulelo Ncango is the Executive Director at the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa, champions postgraduate student and emerging researcher support through NRF’s skills development and funding. His dedication to nurturing the next generation of researchers ensures the growth of young scientific talent. As the head of this department, he is responsible for providing strategic leadership and management for the conceptualisation and implementation of strategies for program management focusing on next generation researcher, postdoctoral fellowships and emerging researcher.
In 2011, he was employed as a Plant Pathologist as well as Head of Department (HoD) in the Disease management unit by the Agricultural Research Council – Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ARC-ITSC). He joined the NRF in 2015, employed as the director responsible for Postgraduate programmes as well as the managing the DSI-NRF internship programme before it was moved to the HRSC. During this time, he also acted as the Director responsible for the SA PhD programme at the NRF.
He is currently serving as an board member of France – South Africa Scholarship Programme and French South African Institute of Technology (F’SATI). In the past he served as a member of the Southern African Citrus Improvement Scheme’s advisory committee.
Director for Strategic Partnerships Directorate at the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI).
Ms Tugela Matubatuba Dlamini
Tugela Matubatuba-Dlamini is the Director for Strategic Partnerships Directorate at the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). She manages the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Cooperation between South Africa and the European Union. Prior to becoming Director for Strategic Partnerships at the DSI, She worked in the Health Innovation & Biotechnology Chief Directorate, the Multilateral Cooperation & Africa Chief Directorate and Strategic Partnerships in a position of Deputy Director. Tugela Matubatuba has over 15 years’ experience in international relations, stakeholder management and science diplomacy. She holds a BSc in biological sciences and a master’s in business management (MBA).
Head: Sustainability, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate of the University of South Africa – University of South Africa (UNISA)
Dr Thelma Louw
Dr Thelma Louw is a qualified educator, language practitioner, project manager and Certified Ethics Officer. Her MBL research focused on whether there was sufficient emphasis on soft skills in project management training to empower students to manage the hard and soft dimensions of projects. Her DBL focused on the role of South African business schools in inculcating ethical thinking in MBA students. Amongst her qualifications count two legal qualifications and a Project Management qualification at Masters’ level. Thelma has an extensive publication record. She was tasked with establishing the Unisa Sustainability Office in 2013 and was instrumental in establishing the Higher Education Sustainability Community of Practice for South African universities under the auspices of USAf. She has been responsible for overseeing the compilation of Unisa’s annual report and integrated report since 2017. Managing the monitoring and evaluation of the institution’s performance against the Annual Performance Plan and its implementation plans was added to her responsibilities in 2021.
Director: Future Water Institute, University of Cape Town
Professor Kirsty Carden
Kirsty Carden has over 35 years of experience working in academia, for government and the private sector in the field of urban water management in South Africa. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and is currently Director of UCT’s transdisciplinary research institute, Future Water. Her research interests include integrated approaches geared towards sustainable urban water management and the transition towards water-sensitive and resilient cities. She has a specific interest in the opportunities and challenges related to enabling governance for blue-green infrastructure and nature-based interventions in urban areas as well as in Communities of Practice and social learning related to water-sensitive design. A/Prof Carden has led several national and internationally funded research projects in the field of integrated urban water management.
Day 3 (11 October 2024)

Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Higher Education – CHE
Dr Whitfield Green
Dr Green is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Higher Education, an organisation mandated to conduct research on higher education, monitor trends in higher education, provide advice to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and the apex organization for quality assurance of higher education in South Africa. He was previously the Chief-Director: Teaching, Learning and Research Development in the South African Department of Higher Education and Training.
He holds a Bachelor of Science, Higher Diploma in Education, Bachelor of Education Honours, Master of Education, all from the University of Natal/KwaZulu-Natal he earned his PhD from the University of Stellenbosch.

Director: Institute for Futures Research, Stellenbosch University
Professor Doris Viljoen
Professor Doris Viljoen is the director of Institute for Futures Research (IFR) at Stellenbosch Business School, where she endeavours to interpret global as well as local trends and assess their relevance for South Africa and Africa.
She has specialised skills in environmental scanning, the application of foresight methodology, scenario planning as well as strategy development.
She has a wide range of research interests and is passionate about asking the right questions, searching for and finding relevant data as well as designing tools and techniques to facilitate thinking about plausible futures. She also lectures on Stellenbosch Business School’s Postgraduate Diploma and M Phil in Futures Studies

CEO: University Leadership Development and Advisory Services
Dr Oliver Seale
Oliver Seale is a leadership development specialist, faculty and researcher. He is the Founder and CEO of University Leadership Development and Advisory Services (ULeDA), a company that provides strategic leadership development advice and support, as well as focuses on organisational health and advancement in universities. Oliver is the former Director of Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) at Universities South Africa (USAf). He is the convenor and faculty in the Leadership Lab for the African Leadership University’s MBA located in Kigali, Rwanda. Oliver holds a PhD in Leadership Development from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Oliver is a research associate at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies at the University of Johannesburg. His first book titled, ‘Deanship in the Global South: Bridging Troubled Waters,’ was published by Brill Sense in February 2021. Oliver is a member of the Committee for Advancing Leadership Programmes (CALP), Funding Development Committee and a Board member of the International Leadership Association.

Leadership coach and mentor, and Programme Associate: USAf’s Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme)
Professor Ihron Rensburg
Professor Rensburg is Chairperson of the South Africa National UNESCO Commission, Senior Advisor to the Principal, Visiting Professor and Life Fellow at King’s College London, Senior Associate at Higher Education Leadership and Management (where he is project founder and lead on the Executive Leadership Programme), Honorary Professor at Nelson Mandela University, Global Fellow of the University Design Institute (Arizona State University), and Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Social, Sustainability and Ethics Committee, the Corporate Social Investment Committee, and the Africa Corporate Social Investment Advisory Board at the ABSA Group (one of Africa’s largest banking groups). Most recently he was Ombud of the University of Cape Town, Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee on the Review of the South African Higher Education, Science and Technology Landscape, and Administrator of Vaal University of Technology. Prof Rensburg was the founding Vice Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg in which capacity he served as chairperson of HESA. He chaired the Ministerial Review on the Provision of Student Housing and was a member of the first National Planning Commission where he chaired the social and human capabilities committee. He was CE Strategic Services at the South African Broadcasting Corporation, prior to which he was Deputy Director General of the Department of Education.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor: People Development and Culture, University of Witwatersrand
Professor Garth Stevens
Development and Culture, as well as Professor of Psychology. I have also held the positions of Dean, Acting Dean, Deputy Dean, Co-Assistant Dean (Graduate Studies), and Assistant Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Humanities, at the University of the Witwatersrand. I have lectured at the University of the Western Cape in the Psychology Department, conducted research at the University of South Africa’s Institute for Social and Health Sciences, and worked as a researcher on the MRC-UNISA co-directed Crime, Violence and Injury Presidential Lead Programme. I last held a B3 rating as a researcher from the National Research Foundation (NRF), am a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and am also the Past-President of the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA). In addition, I have continued to pursue clinical practice with individuals, families and groups, and have also assisted public sector and civil society organisations with strategic planning, research, organisational development, and enhancing their organisational coherence and functioning.
Research in the areas of race, racism and identity; violence and its prevention; power, ideology and domination; community psychology interventions; knowledge production processes; and social asymmetries in a globalised world. Professional training of psychologists; private clinical consulting; and consulting for the development sector (civil society) and public sector.
My research has focused on masculinity and violence, critical violence studies (The Violent States, States of Violence Project), and a national project on the archiving of apartheid narratives (The Apartheid Archive Project).
3rd USAf Higher Education Conference News
“Mission accomplished” pretty much sums up USAf’s Higher Education Conference 2024
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:23+02:0019 November 2024|
Cutting operational costs is one way public universities could survive, long-term
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0019 November 2024|
Universities South Africa’s Strategy groups recap the outcomes of their sessions at the HE Conference
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0019 November 2024|
North-West University’s sustainability programme aims to drive societal change
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0018 November 2024|
“A university cannot survive without water,” says Professor Kirsty Carden of UCT on Day Zero
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0018 November 2024|
Transforming entrepreneurship education; Elona Ndlovu’s perspective
V4CWebAdmin2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0014 November 2024|
Sustainable development goals present viable opportunities for sustainable entrepreneurship – Kerrin Myres
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0014 November 2024|
Audience insights on work-integrated learning and the responsibility of universities
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0013 November 2024|
Preparing graduates for an ever-evolving world
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0013 November 2024|
Murimbika’s vision for Higher Education is to transform universities into innovation catalysts
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0013 November 2024|
Innovative teaching approaches could yield most career-ready, entrepreneurial graduates – Olebogeng Selebi
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0013 November 2024|
South Africans can access billions of Euros’ worth of research grants via the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation
V4CWebAdmin2025-01-30T10:37:24+02:0012 November 2024|
Impactful research case studies must demonstrate societal changes already achieved, not hoped-for
V4CWebAdmin2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0012 November 2024|
Funding research for impact can transform lives, says NRF executive director
V4CWebAdmin2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0012 November 2024|
The SA universities’ SDGs study provokes animated response from conference delegates
V4CWebAdmin2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0011 November 2024|
SA universities’ contribution to Sustainable Development Goals unveiled at the HE Conference 2024
V4CWebAdmin2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0011 November 2024|
A call for innovation: reimagining artisanship and Work-Integrated Learning in South Africa’s Higher Education
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0030 October 2024|
Universities must re-model themselves around Artificial Intelligence
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0028 October 2024|
Big tech and implications for higher education
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0028 October 2024|
We need to shift philanthropy in Africa’s favour
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:25+02:0028 October 2024|
Tshilidzi Marwala’s vision for transformative Higher Education
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:26+02:0025 October 2024|
Navigating the intersection of educational technology and ethics; insights from a higher education strategist
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:26+02:0025 October 2024|
University leaders reflect on the academic freedom discourse
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:26+02:0024 October 2024|
The erosion of academic freedom; Pandor’s call for intellectual integrity in higher education
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:26+02:0024 October 2024|
Can SA universities realise genuine transformation and endure, long-term?
Retha de Bruyn2025-01-30T10:37:26+02:0023 October 2024|