The University of Zululand (UNIZULU) has reached a significant research milestone following the awarding of two prestigious Research Chairs through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI). The appointments of Professor Innocent Moyo and Prof Neerish Revaprasadu bring the total number of SARChI Chairs hosted by the University to three as of January 2026. The other Chair is in hydrology and is held by Professor Vetrimurugan Elumalai, who heads the Research Centre for Water Science and Technology. The SARChI programme, one of South Africa’s flagship research initiatives, is designed to strengthen research excellence, build postgraduate capacity, and position South African universities as leaders in strategic areas of knowledge production. Securing two Chairs in a single cycle marks a notable achievement for UNIZULU and reflects sustained institutional investment in high-impact, transformative research.
Advancing Continental Trade and Border Research
For Prof Moyo, a human geographer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, the awarding of a SARChI Chair represents both personal recognition and professional affirmation. He describes the Chair as validation of years of dedicated scholarship and as evidence of the growing research strength within his department. Notably, this is the first SARChI Research Chair to be hosted in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, marking a historic milestone and opening new avenues for research growth and expansion.
At an institutional level, Prof Moyo’s Chair positions UNIZULU as a global centre for research on borders and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He emphasises that future scholarly, policy, and development-oriented discussions on borders and the AfCFTA will increasingly reference the University of Zululand, a shift that is both strategic and transformative.
The Chair’s research agenda seeks to build a robust knowledge base on how borders and the AfCFTA can drive intra- and inter-African trade to promote inclusive economic development. It will generate policy guidance on how borders and AfCFTA frameworks can stimulate manufacturing and industrial growth, while producing qualitative and quantitative evidence on how AfCFTA protocols on trade in goods and services can empower youth entrepreneurship and job creation.
A key dimension of the research will focus on the informal economy. The Chair will provide empirical evidence on how informal cross-border traders and township-economy actors can leverage AfCFTA mechanisms for broader socio-economic development. In addition, the Chair will contribute research and policy insights on continental integration, the African Economic Community, and Africa’s Agenda 2063, while developing frameworks to enhance Africa’s global competitiveness under the AfCFTA.
Postgraduate students and emerging scholars will be central to the Chair’s work, forming the engine of its research activities. Through structured training, supervision, and mentorship, the Chair will produce cutting-edge research outputs, high-impact policy briefs, and host policy dialogues that strengthen UNIZULU’s research capacity and societal impact.
Driving Green Energy Innovation Through Functional Nanomaterials
The second SARChI Chair, awarded to Prof Revaprasadu of the Department of Chemistry, recognises more than 15 years of sustained research excellence at UNIZULU. Professor Revaprasadu describes the Chair as acknowledgment of the collective effort invested in building an internationally competitive research programme in the synthesis and application of functional nanomaterials.
His Chair holds significant importance for the field of inorganic materials chemistry, particularly in supporting technologies that enable a sustainable future. Strongly aligned with national imperatives around the just energy transition, the Chair contributes to national efforts to build expertise in green energy research while positioning UNIZULU as a key research node in materials synthesis for energy applications.
The research focus of the Chair centres on the development of functional nanomaterials as transformative tools to address critical energy challenges. By leveraging their unique physical, chemical, and catalytic properties, the research aims to improve efficiency, durability, and cost-effectiveness in green hydrogen production and energy storage technologies. This includes the preparation of efficient electrode materials, scalable synthesis processes, and innovative applications that advance sustainable energy solutions.
Postgraduate training and mentorship are integral to the Chair’s mandate. Master’s and doctoral students will undertake structured research projects aligned with the Chair’s objectives, supported by postdoctoral fellows and junior academics who will play a key role in mentoring and co-supervision. In line with transformation and equity imperatives, preference will be given to female students, as women remain underrepresented in the field. Students will also receive training in research ethics, proposal writing, and critical thinking, ensuring the development of well-rounded, globally competitive researchers.
The Chair further enhances UNIZULU’s research visibility and competitiveness, supported by NRF-rated researchers and advanced characterisation facilities that strengthen the University’s standing in materials chemistry and green energy research.
Institutional Growth and Research Leadership
According to Prof Jili-Mbanjwa, Director of Research and Innovation, the appointment of the two SARChI Chairs signals that UNIZULU’s research trajectory will continue to grow to even greater heights. She noted that the Chairs will strengthen and improve research and innovation capacity through the production of high-quality postgraduate graduates and impactful research outputs.
“These SARChI Chairs will attract increased collaboration and new research projects, enabling the University to retain and deepen its research excellence,” Professor Jili-Mbanjwa said. “They will also produce high-quality research outputs of national and international importance while remaining responsive to local development needs.”
She further highlighted the role of the Chairs in developing human capital and advancing equity within the research ecosystem. Prof Jili-Mbanjwa expressed confidence that the Chairs will create meaningful research career pathways by mentoring emerging and mid-career researchers, strengthening innovation capacity, and addressing historical imbalances in research mentorship.
A Strategic Milestone for UNIZULU
Collectively, the two new SARChI Chairs represent a significant institutional achievement for UNIZULU. They reinforce UNIZULU’s commitment to research excellence, postgraduate training, and socially responsive scholarship that addresses national, continental, and global challenges.
– Ntombezinhle Zwane
Caption
From left: Professor Innocent Moyo with UNIZULU Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Xoliswa Mtose; Professor Neerish Revaprasadu with Professor Mtose.
