Prof. Letlhokwa George Mpedi is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg.
He recently published an opinion article that first appeared in the Forbes Africa on 20 February 2026.
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes economies, labor markets, and learning systems, education has become one of the most consequential arenas of the digital age.
The central question is no longer whether AI will transform education, but whether institutions, particularly in the Global South, can shape that transformation in ways that advance equity, justice, and inclusive development.
Within this context, LinkedIn’s Top 200 Voices in Education program has emerged as a global barometer of influence. The list recognizes intellectual leadership rather than popularity, highlighting scholars, policymakers, and institutional leaders whose ideas are shaping how education systems respond to technological change.
The most recent cohort includes AI researchers, higher-education strategists, Educational Technology (edtech) innovators, and future-of-work thinkers influencing learning at scale.
Among those recognized is Professor Letlhokwa George Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg, whose inclusion reflects both individual scholarship and a broader institutional agenda emerging from South Africa and across the continent. This distinction places him among a select group of global higher-education leaders contributing to debates on how AI should be integrated responsibly into education systems.
Mpedi’s academic work has consistently examined the relationship between law, governance, and emerging technologies, with particular emphasis on the ethical and regulatory dimensions of AI.
His scholarship engages with questions increasingly confronting governments and universities worldwide: how should AI be governed in an era of rapid technological change; how can innovation proceed without undermining human rights; and how can higher education ensure that technological progress expands opportunity rather than deepening inequality.
These concerns align with global policy frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which emphasize inclusive institutions, ethical innovation and decent work in an increasingly digital world. They also resonate strongly within African contexts, where technology is often expected to accelerate development while addressing long-standing structural imbalances.
What distinguishes Mpedi’s leadership is the way intellectual inquiry translates into institutional direction. Under his stewardship, the University of Johannesburg has increasingly positioned itself not only as a producer of knowledge, but as an institution with an explicit societal mandate.
This orientation is articulated in the institution’s Strategic Plan 2035, which frames its future around economic, societal, technological, and environmental impact. Rather than treating AI and digitalization as isolated innovations, the strategy situates them within a broader commitment to inclusive growth, ethical governance, and public value creation.
Viewed through this lens, the institution’s engagement with AI extends beyond laboratories and lecture halls into fields such as law, healthcare, business, and public policy. This approach reflects a broader shift among African universities toward interdisciplinary, human-centered models capable of responding to the continent’s most complex development challenges.
Through public scholarship, global engagement, and keynote contributions, Mpedi has consistently argued that universities must prepare students not only for employment but for a volatile, AI-driven future of work. That preparation, he notes, requires technical fluency alongside legal literacy, ethical reasoning and civic responsibility.
These public contributions emphasize the need for African institutions to be proactive in shaping AI governance frameworks, influencing policy debates and ensuring that local realities inform global conversations on technology and education.
His recognition in LinkedIn’s program reflects a growing international acknowledgment that leadership in AI-enabled education is no longer confined to traditional centers of power. Increasingly, it is shaped by institutions that understand technology’s societal consequences and the importance of governing innovation through ethical, legal and public-interest frameworks.
“As education systems navigate rapid technological change, voices from the Global South are shaping the global conversation. Africa is not simply responding to the AI era; it is helping to define its direction,” Mpedi says.
“Our work is grounded in scholarship, leadership and a long-term commitment to societal impact. Innovation, for us, is not defined by technology alone, but by its ability to advance inclusion, justice and sustainable development.”
*The views expressed in this article are that of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect that of the University of Johannesburg.
