Prof Stephen Khehla Ndlovu

Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

Prof Stephen Khehla Ndlovu is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.
Before joining VUT, he served as Vice-Principal: Strategy, Risk and Advisory Services at the University of South Africa; Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the Durban University of Technology (DUT); Deputy Vice Chancellor: Resources and Planning at Mangosuthu University of Technology.
In these positions, Prof Ndlovu provided strategic management and leadership as well as the alignment of the various functions to support the institutions’ visions and missions and strategic plans, and their alignment with national and regional government policy initiatives.
These included Strategy, Risk Management, Finance, Information Technology & Networks, Operations, Human Resources & Development, Institutional Planning, Institutional Research, Business Intelligence and Legal Services.
He was formerly with Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) as Strategic Advisor to the Vice Chancellor and Compliance Officer. Prior to joining TUT, Prof Ndlovu was the Director for Higher Education Management Support in the Department of Education (now Higher Education and Training). He was responsible for the coordination of the establishment of the National Institutes for Higher Education in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape; coordinate the establishment of the National Higher Education Information and Application Service; provide for the development and implementation of the financial and governance reporting; managed the administration of subsidies to South African Universities and associated financial monitoring; liaise with the Council on Higher Education and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, particularly in relation to the budgets and financial reporting of these statutory bodies; and responsible for the introduction/amendment of legislation, including the Statutes of the higher education institutions.
Prof Ndlovu served as Board member of the NIHEs from 2005 to 2007 for Northern Cape and 2005 to 2014 for Mpumalanga. These NIHEs led to the establishment in 2013 of two universities: Sol Plaatje University and the University of Mpumalanga.
He has worked in Malawi as Senior Technical Advisor/Chief of Party for the University of Massachusetts (UMass) and the American Institutes for Research (AIR). For UMass, Khehla managed the University Partners for Institutional Capacity/Advance Degree Activity focusing on building capacity in Education Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Education, Malawi National Examination Board (MANEB), and the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College. While in Malawi, Chancellor College developed a new Master of Education Degree in Education Policy, Planning and Leadership. As Chief of
Party for American Institute for Research’s (AIR) Malawi Teacher Training Activity (MTTA), he established MTTA’s Country Office with 19 professional and administrative staff to provide training to 6,000 teachers in Maths, science and English.
Before moving to Malawi, Prof Ndlovu worked for United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/South Africa as Team Leader for Higher Education. He provided technical advice and leadership, and participated in the conception, design, development, negotiation and implementation of major education sector assistance projects. In addition, he performed management, supervisory and representational responsibilities while providing a leadership role within the education team and with USAID’s development partners. He has been a lecturer at the University of Zululand, worked as Manager: Research Services at the University of the North, and Chief Education Specialist in the Department of Education.
In 2008, Prof Ndlovu served as a member of the Department of Education study tour group reviewing the provision of Vocational Education and Training Teacher development in Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. In 2001/2, he also served as a member of the Minister of Education’s Working Group to establish a National Higher Education Information and Applications Service. Prof Ndlovu also serves as member of the National Institute for Higher Education’s board, the Elangeni College Council, and the National Working Group for the Human Resources Development Council of South Africa.
Prof Ndlovu is the holder of the South African Black Universities’ Faculty Skills Enhancement Fellowship at Hampton University and University of Georgia; the holder of the European Business Institute’s European Travel Scholarship; and Life Fellow of the Centres for Leadership and Public Values of the University of Cape Town and Duke University. Prof Ndlovu has travelled extensively and presented in conferences in Africa, Europe, USA and Malaysia.
He was born in Newcastle and attended Ballengeich Primary, Sekusile Secondary School, and Matriculated at Isibukosezwe High School. He studied at the University of Zululand where he obtained D Ed, B Ed, B Paed, and SSTD, and also obtained an M Ed at the University of Natal (Durban).
Prof Ndlovu is an avid golfer: the winner of the BP Golf Tournament B Division in Malawi in 2004, Wine and Sleeve Series Floating Trophy in 2005, Dinaledi Golf Society Monthly and runner-up UGI Golf Classic in Malawi, 2004. In 2004 served as Handicap Secretary at the Zomba Gymkhana Club in Malawi and Honorary Secretary for Dinaledi Golf Society 2008 -2009.

Prof Olga Battaïa

Operations Management and Information Systems Kedge BS Paris, France

Title of presentation: Digital Responsibility in the era of Industry 5.0: Challenges and Perspectives

Prof. Olga Battaïa is an award-winning Full Professor at the Department of Operations Management and Information Systems at KEDGE Business School. With an extensive academic and institutional leadership career, she previously served as Associate Dean for Research (2020–2025), where she provided strategic oversight to nine research centers and more than 200 faculty members, strengthening interdisciplinary research excellence at scale. She currently serves as Associate Editor for leading journals including Journal of Manufacturing Systems, IISE Transactions, and Omega – The International Journal of Management Science, and acts as DEI Chair of the IFAC Technical Committee on Management and Control in Manufacturing and Logistics.
Prof. Battaïa’s research lies at the intersection of sustainable manufacturing, business analytics, and equity-aware decision support. With more than 270 peer-reviewed publications and extensive supervisory experience with 18 PhD and DBA students and over 120 Master’s students, Prof. Battaïa has played a formative role in developing the next generation of scholars.

Prof Karim Djouani

Electrical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa/ French South African Institute of Technology, Paris Est University, France

Title of presentation: Hybrid Artificial Intelligence and Human-Robot Collaboration

Prof Karim Djouani is a full Professor, scientist, and technical group supervisor of Artificial Intelligence, mobile and Wireless Communication Systems and Robotics. From September 2025 Holder of the DSI-NRF-TUT co-founded SARChI chair in applied Artificial Intelligence. From Jan 2014 to Dec 2023, he was the DST/NRF SARChI chair holder in Ambient Intelligence, enabled Environment and Assistive Living.
Since Sep 2006, he is full Professor at the university Paris Est-Creteil (UPEC). Since January 2011, he is full professor at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)/French South African Institute of Technology (F’SATI), Pretoria.
He acts also as research leader within the Telkom-Centre of Excellence at TUT.
From July 2008 to December 2010, he was Seconded by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research to F’SATI at TUT.
He also acts as an expert for different public and private institutions (ANR-France, NRF- South Africa, UNU, EU, Algerian Ministry of Research and Education, Majors companies in Telecommunication).

Emanuel Zeferino

Chair of Manufacturing Systems, University of Twente Enschede, The Netherlands

Title of presentation: Model based Technology Assessment for the Next Generation Battery Gigafactories

Emanuel Zeferino is a Ph.D. researcher in the chair of Manufacturing Systems, University of Twente, since 2023. His research focused on modelling assessment of new technologies in battery manufacturing process chain and factories (Gigafactory). He holds a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from Tshwane University of Technology, which he obtained Cum-Laude, amongst top 3 Faculty performers. He previously worked in various capacities, including as a Project Manager and Data Scientist at Sunstone Logistics Systems, where he managed projects for digitalising and optimising end-to-end logistics operations for companies such as Coca-Cola Africa (CCBA), in over 10 countries.
Emanuel has several scientific publications on topics related to modelling and simulation, battery production, decision science and smart manufacturing. He has received several awards as a result of his outstanding academic and industry contributions. Emanuel has also supervised Master and undergraduate students, as well as serving as a reviewer for scientific journals and conferences. He has contributed with opinion articles to newspapers and televised interviews to offer science and technology related advice.

Prof Dr Eng Edmund Maputi

Pro Vice Chancellor Academic Great Heights University Harare, Zimbabwe

Title of presentation: Recalibration of Engineering Pedagogics for an Industry 5.0 Relevant Manufacturing Era

Prof Dr Eng. Edmund Shingirayi Maputi is the Pro Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs at Great Heights University. He is a Professor of Engineering Design, data-driven decision making, computational applications and Nature inspired algorithms. In his previous role he served as Executive Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology at Harare Institute of Technology. He has a total of 13 years of university experience, with 5 years in university administration.
He holds a PhD in Engineering, Master of Technology degree in Engineering Design and BTech (Hons) degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. Prof dr. Eng. Maputi also served as: Chairman of the Innovation and Technology Committee of the Harare Institute of Technology.
Chairman of the Manpower development committee at ZImbabwe Institute of Engineers
He is a Fellow of the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers

Mr Tshetlhe Litheko

Automotive, naamsa South Africa

Title of presentation: Driving Africa’s Industrialisation: The Strategic Role of South Africa’s Automotive Industry

Tshetlhe Litheko serves as the Chief Policy Officer at naamsa | The Automotive
Business Council, where he is at the forefront of shaping industry policies that influence South Africa’s automotive sector. As the Head of Transformation for the Automotive Industry, Tshetlhe leads initiatives that enhance diversity, inclusion, and economic empowerment across the sector, ensuring long-term sustainability and local value creation.

Dr Abu Kamal

Saskatchewan Polytechnic Canada

Title of presentation: Sustainable Valorization of Pulp and Paper Mill Sludge: Phase I Compost Feedstock Characteri-zation Toward Microbial-Assisted Resource Recovery and Circular Manufacturing

Dr. Abu Kamal is the Research Chair in Biomaterials at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Canada. His research focuses on sustainable materials, biomass utilization, waste valorization, circular economy, and environmental engineering. He has extensive experience in developing value-added products from biomass and industrial by-products, including biomass ash, biochar, mine tailings and sustainable construction materials. Dr. Kamal collaborates closely with industry and government partners on applied research projects that promote resource efficiency and environmental sustainability. His current interests include sustainable manufacturing, carbon reduction strategies, industrial waste management, and innovative biomaterial technologies that support Industry 5.0 and circular economy initiatives.

Dr Halima Kilungu

Geography, Tourism and Hospitality The Open University of Tanzania Tanzania

Title of presentation: Assessing the Challenges and Opportunities of AI-Driven Tourism Systems in the Era of Industry 5.0 in Tanzania

Dr Halima Kilungu is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism, Water and Wildlife at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). She is the HoD of the Department of Geography, Tourism and Hospitality since 2020. She holds a PhD in Tourism and Climate Change from Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands. Her doctoral research examined how changes in climate and land cover affect nature-based attractions. She also holds MSc in Integrated Water Resources Management from the University of Dar es Salaam, specialising in water for the environmental, and BSc in Wildlife Management from Sokoine University of Agriculture.