Prof Ian Rothmann

Sebastiaan (Ian) Rothmann is a professor of Industrial Psychology and the director of the Optentia Research Unit at the North-West University (NWU). He completed a PhD in Industrial Psychology (1996) and is a rated scientist by the National Research Foundation. Ian’s research focus on work-related well-being (job demands/resources, personality, burnout, and work engagement; 2000-2010) moved towards sustainable employability (work capabilities, decent work, and flourishing; 2011-2024). His research was published in 262 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Ian is a fellow of the Society of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology in South Africa and a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf).

Prof William Mpofu

William Jethro Mpofu holds an undisciplinary Phd centred on the Philosophy of Liberation of the Global South in general and Africa specifically. He is a senior researcher at the Wits Centre for Diversity (WiCDS) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in South Africa. He is a Senior Research Fellow at Good Governance Africa (GGA), a continental think-tank, headquartered in Rosebank, Johannesburg. Mpofu’s latest book is; Africa Otherwise: Essays in the Philosophy of Liberation (2024) which is in production by the Lexington Press.

Lance Bunt

Lance Bunt is a senior lecturer at North-West University, specializing in game-based learning, instructional game design, and educational technology. Since 2017, Lance has been shaping the future of students at the Vanderbijlpark campus, blending idealism with pragmatism in his teaching philosophy. His approach incorporates free-choice learning, role-playing scenarios, and AI fortification, preparing students for the dynamic tech industry. With a strong background in communication and IT, Lance's research delves into integrating playful pedagogy in learning scenarios and improving instructional design processes through a creative lens.

Prof Tunde Ope-Davies

Professor Tunde Ope-Davies is a Full Professor of Digital Cultures, Digital Linguistics & Discourse Studies at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is the founder and director of the Centre for Digital Humanities, University of Lagos. He has been Commonwealth Fellow at the University of Westminster, London, and visiting researcher, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and visiting research professor at the University of Technology, Germany, and a grantee of the Volkswagen Foundation, Germany. He has served as Senior Advisor to the Governor and Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria, respectively. He is a member of the prestigious Nigerian Academy of Letters.

Mrs Doris Viljoen

Doris Viljoen is the director of Institute for Futures Research (IFR) at Stellenbosch Business School, where she endeavours to interpret global as well as local trends and assess their relevance for South Africa and Africa. She has specialised skills in environmental scanning, the application of foresight methodology, scenario planning as well as strategy development. She has a wide range of research interests and is passionate about asking the right questions, searching for and finding relevant data as well as designing tools and techniques to facilitate thinking about plausible futures. She also lectures on Stellenbosch Business School’s Postgraduate Diploma and M Phil in Futures Studies.

Byron Bunt

Byron J. Bunt is an Associate Professor, NWU Faculty of Education, South Africa, Self-Directed Learning Research Unit. As the subject leader for the subject of History Education, his research is in the area of cognitive education and strategies such as game-based learning (GBL) to develop students' historical, creative and critical thought. Byron is a prolific author in the fields of History Education and GBL, with multiple book chapters, and a number of journal articles. To promote self-directed learning in his history module, he developed the card game 'Dogs of War', and created a project that utilized the mobile gaming app 'Habitica' for habit formation via role-playing.