methodological tools, and practical competencies needed to address complex societal challenges in the Global South and beyond. the Chair supports 25 full- and part-time Master’s and Doctoral candidates through structured academic programmes, close supervisory support, and a range of research development initiatives. These offerings place strong emphasis on critical engagement with innovation systems, sustainability transitions, and inclusive development, enabling students to locate their research within real-world policy and development contexts. The Chair currently hosts the only active postgraduate programmes in Africa dedicated specifically to Innovation and Development. The Chair annually hosts a Cohort of AFRICALICS Visiting Fellows for a transformative study visit spanning three months. The study visit is part of the one-year fellowship programme, and comprises a range of online sessions, including mentoring sessions, online courses, writing sessions, and paper presentation seminars. 2025 included four PhD students coming from Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. An essential aspect of the Chair’s T&L approach is its interdisciplinary and collaborative nature. Students are encouraged to draw on insights from economics, innovation studies, development studies, public policy, and sustainability science. Through partnerships with universities, research institutions, and policy actors, the Chair integrates diverse perspectives into its learning environment. This approach not only enriches academic training but also prepares students for careers in academia, policy, industry, and civil society. Overall, the Chair’s T&L efforts provide a supportive, rigorous, and forward-looking academic environment. For students completing in 2025, these offerings ensure not only successful degree completion but also the development of well-rounded scholars equipped to contribute meaningfully to transformative innovation, sustainable development, and knowledge production in the Global South. In 2025, UJ-TRCTI consolidated its work across four interconnected thematic areas, using Transformative Innovation as the integrative frame. These areas are: (1) Digital Transformation, (2) Green and Just Transformation, (3) Societal Transformation, underlined by (4) STI Policy and Governance. Our approach has been not only to produce knowledge “about” the role of innovation in transformation, but also co-producing knowledge for transformation – through multistakeholder engagement, action-oriented research, and policy-relevant outputs that remain academically rigorous. In 2025, the Chair maintained a dynamic research portfolio of projects that advance its core thematic priorities. These initiatives are conducted in collaboration with a wide range of national and international partners, generating new evidence and practical insights to inform research, policy, and innovation theory. Some projects include: Engaged policy experimentation for evidenceinformed decision-making: Expanding knowledge uptake in South Africa’s water-energy-food nexus policy. Defining and Measuring the Sustainable Economic and Social Value of Data in Africa. The Political Economy of Green Taxonomies: Implications for Development from the Global South. PATHWISE project (Pathways to activate the Water-Sanitation-Energy-Food-Health nexus in marginalised communities through renewable energy). Prof Erika Kraemer-Mbula is an appointed member of the governing council of the United Nations Technology Bank for Less Developed Countries, which helps least-developed countries build their science, technology and innovation capacity for socioeconomic transformation and towards achieving the SDGs. The Chair regularly convenes a range of events that support both academic development and knowledge exchange. Some activities are internal, designed to strengthen the learning and professional growth of our students and researchers through seminars, workshops, and training sessions. Others are outward-facing events that disseminate the insights and outcomes of the Chair’s research projects to broader audiences, including policymakers, practitioners, and the international research community. Looking ahead, our ambition is to strengthen the Chair as a platform that connects knowledge to action. Supporting innovation that expands human capabilities, advances sustainability, and creates tangible value for communities. We are grateful to our partners, colleagues, and students for their trust and collaboration, and we look forward to building the next phase of impact together. Prof. Kraemer-Mbula represents UJ at the WEF Summit in Davos Policy Dialogue under the ISPF project Panel with Prof. Kraemer-Mbula at the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium, New York 46 47 College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2025 College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2025
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