Associates
Tayarisha will work with a network of trans-disciplinary, cross-institutional associates who will participate directly in the activities of the Centre in various capacities.
Associate Prof. Mzukisi "Mzu" Qobo
Mzukisi "Mzu" Qobo is a Visiting Associate Professor and Head of School at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand. He is an expert on political economy, strategy, and geopolitics.
Prof. Afua Bruce
is an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Co-Author, The Tech That Comes Next, and Founder, ANB Advisory Group LLC. She is a leading public interest technologist who has spent her career working at the intersection of technology, policy, and society. She has worked in and across the government, non-profit, private, and academic sectors and held senior science and technology positions at DataKind, New America, the White House, the FBI, and IBM.
Prof. Iginio Gagliardone
is Associate Professor in Media Studies at Wits University and Associate Research Fellow in the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) at the University of Oxford. He is the author of “The Politics of Technology in Africa” and “China, Africa, and the Future of the Internet”.
Prof. Benji Rosman
is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is the Director of the Robotics, Autonomous Intelligence, and Learning (RAIL) laboratory, and the Director of the National E-Science Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform (NEPTTP). He is also a founder and co-organiser of the Deep Learning Indaba.
Dr Bosun Tijani
is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB); a pan-Africa innovation enabler that works at the forefront of accelerating the application of innovation and social capital for a better society.
Prof. Brian Armstrong
is the Wits BCX Chair in Digital Business, based at the Wits Business School.
Prof. Colin Thakur
is Director and Head: Enterprise Development Unit and e-Skills and the CoLab Director at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). He is also the Research Chair in Digitilisation for the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (InSeta).
Craig Wing
is a Futurist, Global speaker, Imagineer, Entrepreneur. His expertise include emergent futures thinking, scenario planning, disruptive technologies, emergent business models, company culture and new world of work.
Dr Diran Soumonni
is a senior lecturer in Innovation management and policy at Wits Business School (WBS).
Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor
is a digital application, digital communities, and platforms professional having worked with Google, YouTube, and Meta (Facebook) across multiple regions around the world. He is a digital channels senior manager at MTN and teaches/facilitates Digital Transformation online courses with Stellenbosch Business School Executive Education.
Feukeu Kwamou Eva
is the Africa lead at Max Planck Institute for Comparative Private International Law (Germany), specialised in decolonial comparative law. A legal scholar by training, she focuses her recent works on the role that norms play in the production and evolution of anticipatory systems using lessons learned from decolonial studies and pluralist legal contexts as evidence of complexity.
Prof. Imraan Valodia
is Pro-vice chancellor in the VC's Office and Principle of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at Wits.
Lesley Donna Williams
is the CEO of the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Hub.
Dr Luci Abrahams
is Director and Senior Lecturer, Learning Information Networking Knowledge (LINK) Centre.
Malebo Sephodi
is a PhD Candidate in Information Systems at the University of Cape Town.
Prof. Mjumo Mzyece
is an Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Wits Business School.
Dr Paul Plantinga
is a Research Specialist in the HSRC Impact Centre, where he manages the Policy Action Network project.
Dr Rachel Adams
is the Principal Researcher at Research ICT Africa. She is also the Principal Investigator at the Global Index on Responsible AI and Director at Africa Just AI Policy Centre.
Prof. Riel Miller
is co-leading Tayarisha’s work in Futures Literacy and Anticipatory Governance. He is a Visiting Adjunct Professor at the WSG.
Dr. Thema Monroe-White
is Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at Berry College. She has decades of combined evaluation, research and data analytics expertise from her years as a consultant, nonprofit leader and instructor. Dr. White regularly presents at professional and academic conferences and publishes articles in a wide variety of journals pertaining to social enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation in STEM fields and equity and inequality in scientific careers.
Prof. Turgay Celik
is the Director of the Wits Institute of Data Science (WIDS) a world-leading interdisciplinary institute focusing on research, innovation and training in data science.
Dr. Olugbenga Adesida
consults widely on foresight, innovation, and strategy issues for governments and organizations. He has published many articles and co-edited special issues of journals such as the Africa Development Review, Futures, Foresight, and Africa Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Development, and co-edited books such as Innovation Ecosystems in Africa, Innovation Africa and African Voices, African Visions. Olugbenga is a Director of the African Leadership Institute, a Member of the Board of President Pedro Pires Leadership Institute, and the Jose Maria Neves Foundation for Governance. He is a Member of the Program Advisory Council of the Grand Challenges Canada. Olugbenga is also the co-founder of Bonako (games and digital tech company), Muska (music tech startup) as well as the Africa Innovation Summit (AIS).