The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has ushered in a new chapter with the appointment of Professor Refilwe Phaswana-Mafuya as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC): Research and Innovation (R&I). As a multi award-winning scientist, notable scholar, and visionary leader, Prof Phaswana-Mafuya brings over two decades of transformative leadership, and research gravitas that will take UJ’s legacy of optimal research performance forward.

Her comprehensive and distinguished contributions to leadership, research excellence, and scientific achievement were extended globally through her service on various advisory, expert, and editorial panels.

Before her appointment as DVC R&I at UJ, Prof Phaswana-Mafuya held pivotal roles that cemented her reputation as a trailblazer and innovative leader.   She served as the founding  Director of the first and only South African Medical Research Council’s (SAMRC)/UJ  Pan African Centre for Epidemics Research (PACER), scarce skills professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, UJ Faculty of Health Sciences as well as Acting Executive Director, Research Director, and Chief Research Manager at the HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Research Programme of the Human Sciences Research Council.

As a collaborative leader with interpersonal and communication skills and extensive partnership and networking skills, Prof Phaswana-Mafuya will drive impactful local and global networks, and industry-academia partnerships to expand UJ’s new technologies for the future and accelerate knowledge transfer. She will also leverage pan-African and global south research partnerships to fortify UJ’s global research footprint and bring about positive societal change to Africa-centric challenges of renewable energy, biotechnology, poverty, unemployment, and inequality, thus strengthening UJ’s contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2023.

“Theoretical and applied research must lead to innovations that empower communities and enhance sustainable livelihoods. “We will position UJ as Africa’s research gateway, a university where local expertise meets global relevance” she emphasizes.

With a distinguished record of securing substantial external research grant funding from both local and international sources, Prof Phaswana-Mafuya will co-drive diversification of income streams and funding modalities in close collaboration with funding agencies, industry, government departments, foundations, and philanthropic organisations.

In tandem with her professional endeavors, Prof Phaswana-Mafuya has devoted her life to inspiring and empowering diverse emerging talents, and actively combatting gender inequities in science and academia. Her commitment and passion in grooming talent is captured in her recent open access peer-reviewed books, “Navigating Academia: Women’s Stories of Success and Struggle – A Call to Action” (2023) and “Research Mentorship: A developmental and transformational tool in shaping and sustaining African Women’s Career Progression in Academia” (2023). At UJ, she plans to strengthen research capacities targeting early-career researchers, women, and underrepresented groups to foster a vibrant, inclusive research culture. Drawing on her journey from mentee to mentor which influenced her leadership ethos, Prof Phaswana-Mafuya asserts: “True mentorship dismantles barriers and creates equitable pathways for innovation”

She reiterated that “Leadership is about creating opportunities for others to excel,”.

Prof Phaswana-Mafuya’s appointment heralds a dynamic era for UJ. With her bold vision, the University is poised to continue to ascend global rankings while nurturing a generation of scholars equipped to tackle 21st-century challenges.