Programme Director
Programme Director
Adonia Mankou Yanate
Adonia Mankou Yanate
is a qualified interior designer and founder of Shumukh Design, a South African studio redefining African spaces through cultural authenticity and modern innovation. Her work blends storytelling, heritage, and intentional spatial design, creating interiors that are visually striking, climate-conscious, and rooted in African materiality.
Franaaz Khan
Franaaz Khan
Associate professor and Head of Department of Private Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg. She is also an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa (non-practicing). She has over 15 years of experience in academia. Her legal career spans more than two decades, beginning with an LLB and LLM, followed by practice as an attorney before transitioning into academia. She pursued her PhD.
Habib Noorbhai
Habib Noorbhai
is a full Professor in Health and Sports Science at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and a Visiting Professor at MIT. He obtained his Ph.D. in Exercise Science from UCT in 2017, and his interdisciplinary research spans cricket science, exercise physiology, and health technologies, with a growing focus on AI and XR.
Kim Vermaak
Kim Vermaak
is an author, book coach, and advocate for paternal mental health.
Her own journey through postpartum depression revealed the deep link between trauma and silence.
Today, she speaks from the heart about healing and breaking the cycle for the next generation.
Sibonisile Cossa
Sibonisile Cossa
is an Award-winning Public Relations Specialist with over a decade experience in Marketing & Communications. She is the founder of Purecoms, a Sustainability Marketing Agency aimed at advancing people and the planet through purposeful communication.
Thatohatsi Radihlare
Thatohatsi Radihlare
is a passionate difference maker and proud alumna of the University of Johannesburg. She believes that regardless of circumstances, we are all in the process of becoming: constantly evolving toward an elevated version of ourselves. With authenticity, integrity, and excellence at the heart of her work., Thatohatsi leads conversations that inspire change and choices that shape a better tomorrow.
Siphiwe Moyo
Siphiwe Moyo
is a global speaker, author, and organisational behaviour specialist. He is the Executive Director of the Organisational Behaviour Institute and a Hall of Fame speaker, known for his thought-provoking yet humorous approach to leadership, change, and workplace culture.
Nasreen Watson
Nasreen Watson
is the Founder of a growing Business Consultancy and currently completing a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence Ethics. With a background in corporate strategy and human resources at one of South Africa’s leading banks, she brings practical industry experience to her work on ethical technology governance.
O’haji Vuyani Ndlovu
O’haji Vuyani Ndlovu
is a professional senior architectural technologist, writer, and creative thinker based in South Africa. Currently studying his B Arch Hons at The Graduate School of Architecture (GSA), Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture at the University of Johannesburg.
James Maisiri
James Maisiri
is a researcher and speaker whose work investigates how artificial intelligence and robotics are transforming labour, education, and society across Africa, with particular attention to the intersections of technology, migration, and inequality.
Order of the Day – 08 October 2025
Programme Director: Hylton Gudmanz
Videos: UJ@20 and TEDx Journey
Senior Lecturer, JBS
Executive Director, UJ Library
UJ Choir performance and cake cutting (UJ@20)
CEO, GMA
Licensee & Curator.
