The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Carol Nonkwelo as the new Executive Director: Research and Innovation, with effect from 1st April 2016.
Prior to joining UJ, Dr Nonkwelo was the Director: Research and Innovation Support at the University of Pretoria. Her educational qualifications include a Masters’ in Business Administration from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, a Masters of Science in Medical Microbiology from Long Island University, and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. Her doctoral research project focused on investigating DNA methylation as a mechanism in maintaining latency of the Epstein – Barr virus, a virus associated with different cancers. Her postdoctoral research training at the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, expanded on her doctoral studies where she was part of a larger research programme that examined key mechanisms involved in the Epstein – Barr virus pathogenesis. In turn, research for her MBA considered key factors for attracting, motivating and retaining knowledge workers in South Africa. Her research outputs have been published in virology and management journals. She has undergone leadership and coaching for excellence training.
Dr Nonkwelo has led teams providing support for postgraduate education, research administration and management, technology transfer, internationalisation support, and toward increasing research income from national and international funders and private industry. She has several years of experience in research capacity development, strategic programme management, and stakeholder relationship management through her previous positions at the Medical Research Council , the National Research Foundation and the Innovation Fund –a former Department of Science and Technology (DST) entity formerly managed by the NRF and incorporated into the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in the late 2000s. As the first Programme Director of the South African PhD Project she, in conjunction with the CEO and the Executive established the programme, the aim of which was firmly to establish the initiative and support the DST Ten Year Innovation Strategy to increase the number of qualified South African doctoral graduates to take up positions in academia, and in the public and private sectors.
We wish Dr Nonkwelo well in her new appointment and trust that she will enjoy a fulfilling career as she takes up her position at UJ.
