* Dean and Head, School of Social Science, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa * Interim Dean of Research, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal,
Keynote Topic: "INCLUSIVE INNOVATION IN AFRICA: EMPOWERING DIVERSE VOICES"
Professor Vivian Besem Ojong, is the Dean and Head of the School of Social Science at the College of Humanities University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa. Prof Ojong leads departments including, Anthropology, Gender Studies, Sociology, Geography, History, Social Policy, Policy and Development, Public Policy, Economic History and Development Studies, Political Sciences, International Relations, Peace Studies and conflict Resolution, cultural and Heritage Tourism, Industrial and Labour Studies, Industrial and Working Life Studies, Information Studies, Archival Studies, Library Studies. As the Dean and Head of the School of Social Sciences, she provide strategic positioning of African Scholarship, strategic positioning of Centers within the school, Ensure maximum research participation by steering the school towards good overall performance, Source third-income funding through cross-disciplinary international teams, linking young and emerging academics through new and existing networks, improve quality of throughput through internationalization, meet enrolment targets and cap enrolment wherever necessary, introduce programs that cut across Disciplines and Facilitate transfer of learning by linking with industry. The School has academic strategic MOUs and partnerships in Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and North America.
Prof Vivian Besem Ojong, is also the Interim Dean of Research, for the College of Humanities with general oversight on research management, innovation and community engagement since September 2023. As the Interim Dean of Research, she implements policy and general research management for the entire college (which is made up of six schools, each having a dean). She runs research enhancement workshops that address issues of impact, translatable, and innovation. She chairs the committee at the college level that evaluates the various publications of staff in various categories: books, book chapters, journal articles, and editorials to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). She has oversight over a new Trans-Atlantic cohort of internal doctoral candidates hosted by UKZN in a new MOU with the International University of the Caribbean in Jamaica. She coordinates and has direct oversight over a suite of doctoral-level compulsory modules rolled out in the College of Humanities at UKZN from 2023. This part of doctoral training sees both South African, as well as international and sub-Saharan students engage in new cutting-edge interdisciplinary modules as part of their doctoral training.
Prof Ojong’s research areas are identity politics, migration and internationalization, globalization and diaspora studies, gender, marginalization and displacement, feminism, research methodology and methods, entrepreneurship as well as culture and religion. She is a recognized gender expert in the African context and has supervised PhD students and published extensively in this area. She has been the head of different structures at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where Gender Studies is a department for the past 15 years, providing leadership on teaching, research and curriculum. She has completed the supervision of 17 Doctoral (Ph.D.) and several Masters Students, mentored 7 Postdoctoral Fellows, and published 60 research articles as journal articles, two edited books, one co-authored book, and book chapters. She has been a National Research Foundation (NRF), South African-rated social scientist since 2018.