DaVinci Institute honours its doctoral graduates

The DaVinci Institute held the president's dinner on May 28 to recognise the outstanding achievements of doctoral students who are making a meaningful impact in their industries and communities.

The gathering was hosted by the business school's president, Prof Edward Kieswetter, to introduce doctoral graduates to society as leaders whose research holds the potential to change industries, communities and the world.

The institute said its doctoral graduates were expected to make significant contributions to society and industry, addressing real-world challenges with innovative solutions.

The graduates are:

• Vincent Blennies, who is redefining how JSE-listed companies manage innovation;
• Mohamed El Mongy, who is bringing a regenerative model to the Nile Basin that is rooted in African perspectives;
• Portia Heynes, who addresses unemployment with a stakeholder-aligned employability framework;
• Skhumbuzo Clement Mtetwa, who pioneers a training approach for digital learning in universities;
• Kholekile Ntsobi, who offers a practical township economic model inspired by Hammarsdale; and
• Goni Saar, who enhances cybersecurity readiness for Zambian SMEs through a locally grounded framework.

Kieswetter said the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 seeks to produce more than 100 doctoral graduates per million of the population per year by 2030.

“The institute is committed to contributing to South Africa's NDP 2030, which aims to produce over 5,000 doctoral graduates annually,” he said.

The institute said it contributed an average of more than 12  doctoral graduates per year. From 2007 to 2024, DaVinci produced over 208 doctoral graduates, significantly affecting the country's higher education landscape.

It said its doctoral output was among the highest for private higher education institutions in South Africa.

“South Africa is one of the most unequal societies and has one of the highest unemployment rates. Imagine how you work to change this,” said Kieswetter during his speech.

He said advanced training meant the graduates are  uniquely equipped to take on these harsh realities.

“The DaVinci practice does not solve theoretical problems but real-world problems — and there is no shortage of real-world problems.”

TimesLIVE