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By Koketso Mamabolo

“One must remain humble enough to realise there will always be something to learn, others who know more, and inquisitive enough to learn from those who you admire and have gone ahead of you,” says Dr Mutshidzi Mulondo, one of the brilliant young academics who is a testament to South Africa, and the continent’s, contribution to research and innovation.

“I stand on the shoulders of selfless mentors and an enabling environment. I have benefitted from the saying, “lift as you rise,” as my mentors have been generous with both information and their knowledge.”

She says her journey into academia began as swiftly as the completion of her PhD, which only took two and a half years and made her the youngest in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), working within the Division of Public Health. This is especially significant given that she obtained an interdisciplinary Doctoral degree, the first of its kind at UFS, in Community Health and Health Professions Education, along with a Masters degree in Psychology from the University of Pretoria.

“With brilliant supervisors who encouraged my ingenuity and curiosity, I joined academia as a lecturer where as a part of a pioneering team, we established the very first Division of Public Health at the University of Free State,” she explains. “Since then the new Division has continued to attract funding, support and top local and international public health students.”

Dr Mulondo, who in 2024 participated in the 79th United Nations General Assembly’s Summit of the Future, is a shining example of this success. She is part of the G20 Research & Innovation Working Group and earlier was named as part of the 2025 cohort of the Global Young Academy (GYA) which was inaugurated in Hyderabad, India.

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Global Young Academy

The GYA, established in 2010, is a network institution for brilliant young scientists, like Dr Mulondo, to collaborate and contribute to global policy and agendas. It emerged from discussions between young scientists at the Annual Meeting of New Champions of the World Economic Forum in 2008 and 2009 and is a network institution of the United Nations Scientific Advisory Board.

It operates under the vision of “science for all; science for the future,” and features around 200 members from six continents who are in the early stages of their academic careers and between the ages of 30 and 40. Besides working groups the members engage in strategic projects and collaborate with international partner organisations. The members serve for five years and are chosen based on scientific excellence and a commitment to engaging with society and the network aims to bridge socio-cultural gaps and connect new and established academics.

“Each day is filled with a new opportunity to learn, grow and touch more lives and shape the future,” says Dr Mulondo, an advocate for greater prioritisation of mental health services in public healthcare.

The inauguration ceremony, under the theme of “Confluence of visionaries: Empowering science for global change”, was an opportunity for the incoming members of this year’s cohort to meet each other, interact with other older scientists and international organisations. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres offered words of encouragement. They also got to answer serious questions such as how academics and entrepreneurs can collaborate to solve the challenges which will come with the next billion people. 

“As we continue to collaborate, we close gaps and silos, created by borders we find ourselves in, as we forge new relationships of understanding underscored by respect and mutual understanding.”

“Collaboration is a necessary ingredient to succeeding in academia as a young academic,” explains Dr Mulondo. “Realising that to go fast you go alone but to go far you must go with others.”

The value Dr Mulondo places on collaboration and her willingness to “lift as you rise” which was inspired by the late academic Professor Bongani Mayosi, who she sees as an example of excellence and who showed her the value of mentoring young researchers which she now has the opportunity to do herself.

“I look forward to seeing more of Africa’s public health interests being reflected in the international agenda,” says Dr Mulondo, mentioning how she is also looking forward to more collaborations for the betterment of people’s lives. “We can go far if we are catapulted by the spirit of Ubuntu.”

Dr Mulondo’s achievements

• Zenith Global Health Award for Mental Health and Well-being 2025
• Member of UNESCO AG for Women in Science
• Council member on the Golden Key International Council of Advisors
• Novartis Reimagining Healthcare Scholar (2023)
• Mandela Washington Fellow (2022)
• Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans (2021)
• Visiting Scholar at the Beaver College of Health Sciences at Appalachian State University
• Fellow of the UFS Emerging Scholar Accelerator Programme (ESAP)

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