Prudence Makhura
NRF Executive Director: International Grants and Partnerships
Dr. Prudence Makhura is currently the executive director of international grants and partnerships at the National Research Foundation (NRF) South Africa. In this capacity, she is responsible for unlocking international research and innovation funding opportunities and leveraging additional funding for the South African National System of Innovation (NSI). She does this through the management of research grants with international partners (i.e. at bi-, tri-, and multi-lateral levels), the private sector, development aids, and state-owned enterprises. Dr Makhura serves on the Advisory Board for the Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE), Co-Chairs the Global Research Council (GRC) Multilateral Engagement Working Group (MEL-WG), and is South Africa’s National Contact Point for both the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and the European Research Council (ERC). She has previously held different portfolios within the South African Higher Education, Research, and Innovation Sector. These include working for the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) managing the higher education partnerships within the African continent (e.g. AU, SADC, COMEDAF, ADEA, AAU etc.), and Universities South Africa (USAf) being responsible for strengthening the Higher Education Sector’s Research, Innovation and Technology capabilities; and international and continental collaborations. Prior to joining USAf, Dr Makhura was a Manager for the Higher Education Quality Committee of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and a Junior Researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Centre for Sociological Research (CSR) based at the University of Johannesburg. She holds a Doctorate of Management in Technology and Innovation with the DaVinci Institute for Technology Management.