Bio of Keynote Speakers
Professor Loyiso C Jita began his career as a science and mathematics teacher, after graduating with Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS). He later took up a lectureship position at the University of Zululand from where he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to read for a PhD at Michigan State University in the USA. In the mid-1990s, he worked as a Policy Researcher at the Education Policy Unit (EPU), University of KwaZulu-Natal where, among others, he led the compilation and presentation of the submission on the Violation of Educational Rights of South Africans, during apartheid, to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). He joined the University of Pretoria (UP) in 2001, after a post-doctoral fellowship at Northwestern University in the USA and was later appointed the Director of the Joint Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (JCSMTE) at UP. In 2008, he took up an appointment as an associate professor at the University of South Africa (Unisa), where he later became the inaugural Director of the School of Education. In 2011, he became a full professor and was appointed the acting Deputy Executive Dean in the College of Human Sciences at Unisa. He joined the University of the Free State (UFS) as a Research Professor in the School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology Education in 2012. In November 2014, he was appointed as the Inaugural SANRAL Chair in Science and Mathematics education. Professor Jita has published many articles on Instructional Leadership, Teacher Development and change, Science and Mathematics education, Lesson Study and has presented over 50 papers at local and international conferences. He has also supervised to completion over 40 PhD graduates and is currently the Dean of Education at the University of the Free State in South Africa.
Dr Nkosinathi Sishi is the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa. He is the Accounting Authority of the National Skills Fund. He has 38 years of experience at different spheres of government and state-owned enterprises holding various positions in the Executive and Senior Management Services (SMS) in the public service. Dr Sishi holds a master’s degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a doctorate in philosophy specialising in management (education) from the University of Johannesburg. The critical positions held by Dr Sishi include, Superintendent-General: Head of Department (HOD), KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education; Deputy Director-General: Planning, Policy and Strategy; Chief Director: Educational Measurement, Assessment and Public Examinations. Dr Sishi was the chairperson and member of various boards, councils and committees of public entities and inter-governmental organisations such as the Inter-governmental Steering Committee on the National Qualifications Framework, KwaZulu-Natal Examination Board, Ministerial National Examinations Integrity Committee, UMALUSI Council, and the Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM). Dr Sishi's special achievements include, Gold Award Winner for Best Head of Department in 2015, Author: “Marking Matric” published by the HSRC in 2007, Author: “From Apartheid to Democracy”, a prescribed history book published in 1997, A Level Merit awards for excellent leadership, programme and project management and administration of the national examinations system in South Africa – 2006 to 2009.
Dr Heidi Bolton is the Senior Manager: Research at the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the entity that oversees the implementation and development of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in South Africa, playing a key role in the coordination of education, training, development and work in the country. Dr Bolton conducts, oversees, publishes, and disseminates research that contributes an evidence base for SAQA’s work. Her responsibilities include leading and collaborating in SAQA’s research partnerships and projects, integrating research into policy and practice, NQF policy development, and NQF research capacity development. Recent research foci include policy for assessment of quality, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CAT), flexible learning-and-work pathways, national education and training systems, and professional designation systems, all of which touch on assessment in some form. Previously she was Senior Researcher at Umalusi, academic textbook publisher, adult learning facilitator, and teacher in the school and university contexts. Her PhD focused on assessment for success across socio-economic contexts.
Anil Kanjee is a Research Professor at the Tshwane University of Technology whose work focuses on addressing the challenge of equity and quality in education. He is the head of the Assessment and Learning Research Programme, and coordinator of the Postgraduate Programme in the Department of Primary Education. He also serves as a Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment. Currently he is supporting the Education Department and Teacher Unions to implement the national Assessment for Learning Pedagogical Strategy in South African schools. He has served as a technical advisor to education ministries in Africa and Asia, UNICEF, UNESCO, the United National Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, as well as to the Department of Basic Education, JET Education Services, UMALUSI and the National Educational Collaborative Trust
His areas of research focuses on:
• Enhancing the use of classroom and large-scale assessments to improve learning for ALL.
• Learner rights, learner voice and learning across schools in different poverty quintiles.
• Developing models of teacher professional development to address equity gaps in schools.
• Monitoring and evaluation of education systems, programmes and projects.
• Application of Item response theory for enhancing the reporting of assessment results.
Prof Vukosi Marivate is an esteemed Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria, distinguished by his appointment to the prestigious ABSA UP Chair of Data Science. His expertise lies in the domains of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a profound focus on advancing Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, particularly in underrepresented local or low-resource languages. In his role as the leader of the Data Science for Social Impact group, Prof Marivate spearheads transformative projects across diverse sectors, including energy and public safety. His dedication to leveraging data science for societal betterment underscores his commitment to driving meaningful change. Beyond academia, Prof Marivate is a catalyst for innovation and collaboration. He co-founded Lelapa AI, an AI startup dedicated to fostering technological advancement tailored to the African context. Additionally, he played pivotal roles in establishing the Masakhane NLP research foundation and co-founding the renowned Deep Learning Indaba, platforms aimed at nurturing talent and fostering community-driven research in AI and NLP. Through his multifaceted endeavors, Prof Marivate exemplifies a profound dedication to advancing the frontiers of knowledge in data science and AI, while also championing diversity, inclusion, and social impact.