DaVinci Institute honours its doctoral graduates
The DaVinci Institute held the president's dinner on May 28 to recognise the outstanding achievements of doctoral students who are making a meaningful impact in their industries and communities.
The gathering was hosted by the business school's president, Prof Edward Kieswetter, to introduce doctoral graduates to society as leaders whose research holds the potential to change industries, communities and the world.
The institute said its doctoral graduates were expected to make significant contributions to society and industry, addressing real-world challenges with innovative solutions.
The graduates are:
Vincent Blennies, who is redefining how JSE-listed companies manage innovation;
Mohamed El Mongy, who is bringing a regenerative model to the Nile Basin that is rooted in African perspectives;
Portia Heynes, who addresses unemployment with a stakeholder-aligned employability framework;
Skhumbuzo Clement Mtetwa, who pioneers a training approach for digital learning in universities;
Kholekile Ntsobi, who offers a practical township economic model inspired by Hammarsdale; and
Goni Saar, who enhances cybersecurity readiness for Zambian SMEs through a locally grounded framework.
Kieswetter said the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 seeks to produce more than 100 doctoral graduates per million of the population per year by 2030.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

IOL News
5 hours ago
- IOL News
S&P Global Ratings maintains positive outlook for South Africa's economy
The S&P Global logo is displayed on its offices in the financial district in New York City Image: File. S&P Global Ratings has said that the outlook for the country remains positive, during its South Africa Capital Markets Conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday. S&P global experts and industry leaders, engaged in dynamic panel discussions during the conference. Yann Le Pallec, President of S&P Global Ratings, highlighted Africa's potential for growth, particularly in sub-Saharan regions. He projected that the region's real GDP is expected to increase by 4% over the next two years, outperforming advanced economies that are anticipated to grow by a mere 1.5%. "Despite issues faced in African economies, there is potential to attract investment from all regions,' Le Pallec said, emphasising the continent's pivotal role in the global energy transition. Le Pallec addressed the pressing need for enhanced electricity access across Africa, noting that approximately 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa currently lack reliable power. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He mentioned the plans from both the World Bank and the African Development Bank to provide electricity access to 300 million individuals, demonstrating a commitment to improving infrastructure. G20 and the economy As experts convened on a panel to deliberate on the geopolitical climate and the implications of tariff policies, Danelee Masia, a senior economist at Deutsche Bank, underscored the need for South Africa to navigate the evolving global order. She stated that South Africa's strategic alliances with Middle Eastern countries could potentially bring in foreign direct investment, which is crucial for the nation's economic landscape. Jeff Gable, the head of Macro and Fixed Income Research at Absa, echoed the importance of US participation in the upcoming G20 conference. He warned that a lack of US engagement could overshadow the efforts made in preparing for the conference and detract from the discussions on pressing global issues. Growth in South Africa In terms of South Africa's growth, Annabel Bishop, the chief economist at Investec Bank, pointed out that the South African Reserve Bank has forecasted a mere 1% economic growth. Bishop attributed recent instability in the global financial markets to uncertainty surrounding tariffs and the Government of National Unity (GNU). She expressed cautious optimism that diplomatic negotiations could potentially lead to lower tariffs later in the year. "While we saw a pause and lot of negotiations on tariffs made from around the world, including South Africa's one where Ramaphosa and SA's team went to the White House and spoke about trade and other issues, it is key to understand that this process could allow for much lower tariffs later in the year," Bishop added. Bishop further said, "We have our forecast at 1.3% it could possibly drop to 1.2 or 1.1%,but we are optimistic that this year will see almost double of what economic growth came out of last year." Ravi Bhatia, a director and lead analyst at S&P Global Ratings, reiterated a positive outlook for South Africa, noting the nation's structural strengths and the ability to maintain a low inflation environment. Bhatia said, "That facilitates from a government point of view that it is relatively is easy to fund the deficit through domestic funding making for less exposure to foreign exchange risk and still have room on raising external financing. SA is fairly new on raising money from multilaterals, and they are working on that so what we seeing is they are able to finance. The GNU is good in that it survived despite many disagreements. Having other parties there alongside the ANC, it is putting reformist pressure on the ANC to push reforms at a faster rate. It has been impressive that despite the disagreements over the Budget, the GNU held together." "What we have not seen that it is delivering higher growth and that is where there is a bit of a disconnect. We still have around 1.5% in the forecast period we are looking at, it is not great because it means incomes in SA are flat. Efforts have been made in the fiscal space and a push towards fiscal consolidation. To unlock finance, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) will push the SA government to push their structural reforms and getting the SOEs (state-owned enterprises) in order. The macro story is quite good; the checks and balances between the Treasury and SARB are sound and not something the IMF will focus on. It will be more on structural reforms, SOEs and labour market reforms as well as higher growth, Bhatia said.

IOL News
6 hours ago
- IOL News
Rulani Mokwena linked with Pyramids FC job after Krunoslav Jurcic exit rumours
Mokwena set for Pyramids job? Former Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena's name has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Croatian Krunoslav Jurcic at newly crowned African champions Pyramids FC. Photo: BackpagePix According to reports, Jurcic now looks like he's on his way out, and the next man in could be Mokwena, who was recently fired by Morocco's Wydad Casablanca after an underwhelming season. The Egyptian club made history this past weekend when they became the latest team to add their name to the list of CAF Champions League winners when they beat Sundowns in Cairo. A report in The Egyptian Telegraph suggests that club bosses at the newly crowned African champions have been impressed with what Mokwena has been able to achieve at just 38 years old, and are working behind the scenes to ensure that his next port of call is in Cairo. Should Mokwena move to Egypt, it could leave his mentor Pitso Mosimane as the favourite for the Pirates job. A report in Soccer Laduma earlier this week suggested the name of Marco Rose, formerly of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. However, due to the significant amount of money the club would need to lure the German to South Africa, it's unlikely we will be seeing him in the PSL. Mandla Ncikazi, Riveiro's number two at Pirates, was put in charge of the team on an interim basis after the Spaniard's departure. There have been calls for Ncikazi, who has intimate knowledge of the current squad, to be given the job on a full-time basis. IOL Sport


6 hours ago
How Orlando Pirates found and signed new midfielder
Soweto giants Orlando Pirates are set to introduce a new player before the start of the Betway Premiership season in August. Masindi Nemtajela, a 23-year-old from Johannesburg's Soweto, will be unveiled by Orlando Pirates from Marumo Gallants. Nemtejela, who has played 20 matches in the Premier Soccer League this season, is a holding midfielder who will replace the departed Miguel Timm at the Buccaneers. Orlando Pirates transfer news: African striker, Lepasa, Ndlondlo According to this latest report, the clubs' scouts and recruiters recommended Nemtajela to the Sea Robbers. The contract details suggest a three-year deal. Zimbabwean attacker to Orlando Pirates? 'The deal for Masindi Nemtajela is as good as done. It's actually believed to be a three-year deal. Almost everything is finalised and he is expected to join the team in the pre-season camp. It's actually the scouts and recruiters who recommended him to the team so it's not really about who the coach will be. They looked at what he brings to the team which apparently is different from most of the midfielders the club has at the moment. So it's a three-year deal from July 2025 to June 2028,' an insider told Soccer Laduma. 'The scouts and recruiters were looking at a direct replacement for Timm and Masindi fitted in that area and that's why they went for him. Now it's believed that everything is sorted and a three-year deal has been agreed,' an additional source added. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.