Prof T E Cloete

Prof Cloete has 25 years of academic leadership experience. He is the former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Postgraduate studies at Stellenbosch University. Past experience include dean, chair of a school and head of department and director of a research institute. He has a thorough understanding of the higher education landscape and currently serves on the council of the Academy of Science Southern Africa (ASSAf). He is a former board member of the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the CSIR. He is the current chairman of the National Institute for theoretical physics and has chaired the board of 6 Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) Centres of Excellence.

He is a leading academic in his own right and has supervised 110 masters and doctoral graduates, published 165 scientific articles, 5 books and holds 10 patents. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, amongst others the gold medal from ASSAf and the NSTF/South 32 award for research leading to innovation. He currently also chairs the Community of Practice (COP) for entrepreneurship development in higher education (EDHE).