Research Groups

Simon Manda is a Lecturer of International Development at the University of Leeds, UK. His research focuses on politics of global development, climate change and environment. Specifically, his research focuses on environment, and sustainability, including climate mitigation and adaptation (e.g., environmental conservation initiatives such as REDD+), social dimensions of climate change, including disaster recovery. He also has focused on agriculture expansions and implications for livelihoods and rural communities, including political economy of land. With a rural economy perspective and social anthropology, he asks questions about how and in what ways can rural response pathways be expanded amidst diverse development crises to reduced vulnerability. He has worked primarily on Zambia, but also has experience in Malawi, Tanzania and USA

France Maphosa is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Botswana. He joined the University of Botswana in 2011 from the National University of Lesotho. Before joining the University of Lesotho, Prof. Maphosa worked for the University of Zimbabwe where he became Head of the Department of Sociology for six years. He also worked for the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI), Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Young Men’s Christian Association as a Research Consultant and Executive Director respectively. He is currently the Department's Coordinator of Graduate Studies. His teaching areas include, sociological theory, qualitative research methods, industry and society, sociology of organisations, urban sociology, rural development and crime and deviance. His research interests include, migration and transnationalism, the sociology of entrepreneurship, business and society (corporate social responsibility), urban and rural livelihoods and labour studies

Professor Bolding is a lecturer in Irrigation and Water Governance at the Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands. He holds a doctorate in Alex is a trained irrigation engineer and specialising in irrigation design, management and water governance, mainly operating in southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa) and the past 10 years, also in Northeast and East Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania). His research interests are the politics of irrigation reforms, shifts in water governance at the scheme and river basin level, participatory approaches in irrigation design, and the drivers behind farmer-led irrigation practices.

Professor Anna Mdee is Professor in the Politics of Global Development at the University of Leeds, UK. Her research focuses on the politics of global development and development practice: how the aid system works (or doesn’t work), how to improve local service delivery and governance; how to manage natural resources (primarily water), and how to reduce vulnerability through improved livelihoods. She is a social anthropologist and so interested in aid and development as a political and cultural practice. Her research tends to take a critical reflective practice approach to unpicking development problems. She has worked primarily on Tanzania (for more than 25 years), but also has experience in Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and Tajikistan.

Dr Wayne Malinga is a development researcher, consultant and evaluation specialist. He holds a doctorate in Development Studies from the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Dr Malinga is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Development Studies at Lupane State University, Zimbabwe. He currently serves as the Projects Director at African Food Revolution, a grassroots NGO based in Zimbabwe. His research interests and publications are on water, climate change, rural development, natural resources management and socio-economic development issues.

Professor Arthur Mutambara is the Director and Full Professor of the Institute for the Future of Knowledge (IFK) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He is a world-renowned roboticist, academic, author, Pan-Africanist and technology strategist. Professor Mutambara is also the Director of IFK’s Decentralised Artificial Intelligence and Control Systems (DAICS) Research Group and drives the African Agency in Public Health (AAPH) initiative within the Future of Health (FoH) Research Group. He is the Former Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. Mutambara was one of the three Principals who created and led the Government of National Unity (GNU) from 2009 to 2013. The other two were Prime Minister Tsvangirai and President Mugabe. He is the author of a new trilogy (three books): In Search of the Elusive Zimbabwean Dream: An Autobiography of Thought Leadership. Mutambara has also published two Electrical Engineering books used extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia. He has worked as a Research Scientist at NASA, a Visiting Professor at MIT, and a Managing Consultant with McKinsey & Company, all in the United States. At UJ, Mutambara has taught Control Systems in both the Mechanical Engineering and Electrical & Electronic Engineering Departments, where he has received outstanding reviews from both students and peers. He has conducted Engineering seminars and public lectures across the continent and globally. Prof Mutambara is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), a Professional Engineer, a Fellow of the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers (ZIE), a Fellow of the Zimbabwe Academy of Sciences (ZAS), a Senior Member of IEEE and a WEF Young Global Leader. Professor Mutambara holds a PhD in Robotics and Mechatronics (1995) and an MSc in Computer Engineering (1992), both from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Electrical Engineering (1990) from the University of Zimbabwe.

Dr Oluwaseun Tella is the Head of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge in South Africa. He holds a doctorate in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has authored a book entitled Africa’s Soft Power: Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports (Routledge, 2021); edited three books entitled Nigeria-South Africa Relations and Regional Hegemonic Competence (Springer, 2019), From Ivory Towers to Ebony Towers: Transforming Humanities Curricula in South Africa, Africa and African-American Studies (Jacana, 2020), and A Sleeping Giant? Nigeria’s Domestic and International Politics in the Twenty-First Century (Springer, 2021); and published over 30 mostly single-authored book chapters and journal articles in Politikon, Social Dynamics, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Black Studies and elsewhere. His research interests include soft power, international relations, peace and conflict studies, African politics and knowledge production in Africa. Email: otella@uj.ac.za.