Mathematics Education and Language Diversity
Bristol Illustrious Visiting Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South Africa
Reception Room, Wills Memorial Building Queen's road Bristol BS8 1QE
Professor Phakeng holds a PhD in Mathematics Education from the University of the Witwatersrand and is a highly regarded B1 National Research Foundation-rated scientist with over 80 research papers and five edited volumes published. She has been invited to deliver over 40 keynote/plenary talks at international conferences, and as a visiting professor in universities around the world. She has won numerous awards for her research and community work, including the Order of the Baobab (Silver) conferred on her by the President of South Africa in April 2016. In August 2014 CEO magazine named her the most influential woman academic in Africa; in August 2016 she was awarded the prestigious Businesswoman of the Year Award in the education category; and in 2020 she was included in Forbes’ inaugural list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Africa. She also received an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Bristol in 2019.
Throughout her illustrious career she has broken new ground as the first woman in a range of prestigious positions, including being elected as the first woman President of the Convocation of the University of the Witwatersrand, leading the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa (AMESA) as its first woman National President, and being the first black South African researcher to be appointed to co-chair a study commissioned by the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction.
Professor Phakeng began her term of office as Vice-Chancellor of UCT in July 2018. Previously she had been serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation at UCT since January 2017. As part of her Professorship she has been engaging with a range of scholars at the University of Bristol.
You can read a more detailed biography about Professor Phakeng here.
This event is organised by the International Research Partnerships Office, part of Research Development at the University of Bristol. The Bristol Illustrious Visiting Professorship (BIVPs) is a year-long appointment during which Professor Phakeng has been engaging with our academic community and building institutional partnerships.