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.

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. Brighton Nyagadza (CIM, Ph.D) is currently heading the department of marketing at Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Zimbabwe, an Associate of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, and a Power Member of Digital Marketing Institute, Ireland. He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Digital Media & Policy (UK), The Retail & Marketing Review (SA), and member of the Mashonaland East Province Zimbabwe National Development Strategy Committee (2021-2025) – ICT & Human Capital Development cohort. His work appears in international journals such as Sustainable Technology & Entrepreneurship (Elsevier), European Journal of Innovation Management (Emerald), Journal of Digital Media & Policy (Intellect), Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (Emerald), Tourism Critiques: Practice & Theory (Emerald), among others.

Professor Charis Harley is Head of the Data Science Across Disciplines Research Group at the IFK and 4IR Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at UJ. She is an accomplished researcher in the field of computational mathematics with over 30 articles, experience at a range of elite universities, and multiple research grants. She also has experience in industry as an analyst and quantitative analyst, with practise in data analysis ranging from the use of filters; Auto-Correlation; Principal Component Analysis; Exploratory Data Analysis, to the use of more advanced methods of data analytics.

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

Dr Onapajo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Nile University of Nigeria. He researches in the areas of conflict, security and elections in Africa. Dr Onapajo has published extensively on areas of his research interest and one of the most cited political scientists in Nigeria – in Google Scholar’s ratings. He is a recipient of the African Humanities Program (AHP) postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the American Council of Learned Societies. He has consulted for state and non-state agencies on various developmental issues around peace-building, elections and democratization. Some of them include the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Presidential Amnesty Office, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and the African Heritage Institution.

Jabulani Sibande is a Research Assistant at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge. He holds a bachelors degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand and an honours degree in African Studies from the University of Johannesburg. His honours project was on the Democratic Development State Model in African States focusing on Rwanda and South Africa. Mr Sibande is interested in the African debate on political economy and development, as well as policy-making processes on the continent.

Dr Joseph Mudare is a senior lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, at the University of Zimbabwe. He holds a doctorate in Electric Circuits and Systems from Jilin University, China. He teaches a wide range of Control and Electronic Engineering subjects including Electronic Circuit Design, Analogue Electronics and Control Systems. Currently, he is also the faculty staff development committee representative and a member of the Faculty Higher Degrees Committee. His fields of interest for research include sliding mode control, automation and application of micro-controller based systems.

Dr Kudus Oluwatoyin Adebayo is an interdisciplinary scholar with research interests covering Africa-China migrations, settlement and belonging, migration health, urban transformations and knowledge production. He is a Research Fellow in the Diaspora and Transnational Studies programme, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow of the ARUA/Carnegie Early Career Fellowship in the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Migration and Mobility, African Centre for Migration & Society, University of The Witwatersrand, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Sociology of Development from the Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He was a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)/African Humanities Program (AHP) Dissertation Completion and Postdoctoral Fellowships, Fellow of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), Scholar of the Postgraduate School Scholarship of University of Ibadan (2014-2016), and Laureate of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). His has published in International Sociology, Migration Studies, Mobilities, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Field Methods, Global Public Health, Global Networks, Third World Quarterly, The Professional Geographer and others.

Lukong Stella Shulika is a political science and international affairs researcher with specialist expertise in peace and conflict studies. She has over ten years of relevant teaching, research, knowledge management, projects supervision, proofreading and editing experience in these fields. Stella holds a PhD and Master’s degrees in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, a postgraduate certificate in Sustainable Development and Human Rights Law from the University of Antwerp in Belgium, a B.A. Honours in International Relations from the University of Free State in South Africa, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Her areas of analytical competence, publications, and research interests include women and peacebuilding, electoral politics and leadership in Africa, migration and human security, African conflicts and cooperation dynamics, gender and the politics of representation, post-conflict reconstruction and development. She has an interesting research record, having published and co-authored a number of book chapters and policy-relevant papers in peer-reviewed and accredited journals. Stella is committed to the ideals of non-violence and is an avid promoter of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; Sustainable Development Goals: the Agenda 2030, and African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. She is interested in broadening her professional network and pursuing academic collaboration as well as policy-related development opportunities.

Dr Mohammad Reza Maghami is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge. He holds a doctorate in Energy Management from the University of Putra Malaysia (UPM). He was a Researcher at UPM’s Centre for Advanced Power and Energy Research (CAPER). Dr Maghami’s research interests are renewable energy, power electronics, photovoltaic systems, power transmission and distribution, demand response as well as control systems. He has published in several high-impact journals.

Dele Layiwola is Professor of African Studies at the University of Ibadan where he was twice director of the university’s Institute of African Studies. He was editor of African Notes, the international journal of the Institute of African Studies. He obtained his PhD in Theatre Studies at the School of English, University of Leeds, and has published extensively in the fields of comparative literature, cultural studies, performance and theatre studies. His publications include four monographs, eight authored or edited books and sixty journal articles and book chapters. One of his recent articles is in the 2023 Routledge Focus anthology titled: “The Local and the Global: Sixty Years of African Studies in Africa.” He has published in other journals as: Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism (Kansas); New Hibernia Review (St. Thomas, Minnesota); Ufahamu (UCLA); Asian and African Studies (Slovak Academy); West African Journal of Archaeology; ODU: A Journal of West African Studies; African Theatre(UK); African Study Monographs (Kyoto, Japan); Critical Stages and H-Net.

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.

Pushpendra Kumar is a young mathematician from India. He holds a Doctorate from the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda. He has published nearly 50 research papers in more than 20 reputed international journals and is listed among the world's top 2% scientists in2023 as announced by Elsevier and Stanford University. His research works are related to the mathematical modelling of various real-world problems, fractional calculus, and computational methods. More specifically, Dr Kumar has done novel work on the modelling of infectious diseases. He is a reviewer for several international journals.

Dr Samuel Okunade is borders and migration specialist most especially in the areas of human trafficking and migrant smuggling in Africa. He is also interested in the nexus between social and ethnic cleavages in border communities, and economic integration and social cohesion in Africa. He has participated in the European Union-funded project on irregular migration in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He has published several articles in reputable journals. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Education and master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a PhD in Conflict Transformation from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Dr Sharon Adetutu Omotoso, a feminist philosopher is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, where she serves as a member of the Institute’s Scientific Committee and Coordinator, Women’s Research and Documentation Centre (WORDOC). Sharon is an alumnus of the COADY Institute, St. Francis Xavier University Canada, a Chartered Mediator & Conciliator, Fellow of African Multiple Cluster, Universitat Bayreuth, Germany and Director, Center for Applied Ethics and Political Communication in Africa (CAEPOCOM AFRICA). Dr Omotoso has been published significantly in areas of Applied Ethics, Gender studies, Media & Political Communications and African Philosophy. She produces indigenous radio education programs on women in politics and development, and is currently working on the concept of Feminized Corruption.

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

Steven Sidley is Professor of Practice at the Johannesburg Business School and is Head of the Blockchain and the Cryptoverse Research Group at the Institute for Future Knowledge, both based at the University of Johannesburg. He is an award-winning and multi-shortlisted author of six books, published globally. His latest book, co-authored with Simon Dingle, is Beyond Bitcoin: Decentralised Finance and the End of Banks, published 2022. Professor Sidley was educated at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is co-founder of several technology companies, including Prism Payment Technologies which is publicly listed on the JSE, and Agilitude, which was sold to PwC. He has held worldwide Group Chief Technology Officer positions at Anglo American and Altech/Altron and was CTO on one of South Africa’s first blockchain projects, Project UBU. Sidley also currently holds the position of partner at Bridge Capital.

Dr Sunday Omotuyi is a Lecturer in Department of International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where he teaches courses on Nigerian Foreign Policy, security in Africa, Development Problems in the Third World and Foreign Policies of Great Powers. He had his Doctoral Degree in the Department of International Relations in 2018. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Ife Journal of International Affairs. He is a Visiting Scholar at the Accra Business School, Accra, Ghana. He is also a Catalyst Fellow, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has published in various national and international journals focusing on Nigerian Foreign Policy and Security in Africa. Some of these articles have appeared in African Security, African Identities, The African Review among others.

Thandeka Nomvele is the Institute for the Future of Knowledge (IFK) Office Manager and Personal Assistant to the Director. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Studies and an honours degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Her honours project and research interest was the comparative review of gender machinery legislated by Rwanda and South Africa to promote gender equality. Other areas of interest include land reform and rural development, and sustainable land and water management (SLWM), with a particular interest in the Great Green Wall Initiative.

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.

Dr Wilson Muna is a Lecturer in Public Policy at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. He holds a master’s degree and doctorate in Policy and Development Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He specialises in public policy analysis, international relations, peace and security, and public management. In his wide range of publications, Dr Muna focuses on African development, especially in the areas of policy learning and integration.