Ahmed Bawa-CEO, Universities South Africa

My guest this week is Professor Ahmed Bawa. Ahmed is the CEO of Universities South Africa, the membership body for all universities in the country. The organization is involved in policy development and advocacy work.

Ahmed grew up in a small town in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and went on to become a particle physicist despite not studying physics at school. He has been in university administration for many years and was appointed to his current role in February 2016.

We chatted about the current state of tertiary institutions n South Africa, the lessons the institutions might have learnt from the Fees Must Fall movement, and how universities should make themselves more relevant to their communities.