Exploring social justice: VUT and Sisulu Foundation announce new fellowship
The Sisulu Foundation for Social Justice, in collaboration with the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), has announced the launch of a pioneering Post-Doctoral Fellowship aimed at deepening research into social justice and the ethical leadership legacy of struggle icons Albertina and Walter Sisulu.
The initiative marks a significant step towards addressing what the Foundation calls a ‘notable absence’ of scholarly work on the Sisulus’ intellectual contribution to South Africa’s liberation struggle and their enduring influence on ethical leadership models across the continent and the diaspora.
“Mme Albertina and Ntate Walter Sisulu have made a significant contribution to the liberation struggles of the peoples of South Africa, Africa, and the diaspora. There remains very little scholarly research on the Sisulus’ contribution to knowledge,” the foundation said.
The fellowship, set to run for two years, offers a tax-free stipend of R300,000 per annum and is open to postdoctoral candidates who obtained a PhD in the humanities, social sciences, or developmental studies within the last five years.
Mphumzi Mdekazi, the chief executive of the foundation, told IOL that the fellowship will help in responding to the paucity and the promotion of ethical leadership.
“We recognised that there was a lack of pedagogical material on both Walter and Albertina Sisulu’s massive liberation contribution and their ethical leadership paradigm, which many benefited from in various ways in this country. This also serendipitously coincides with the penultimate celebration of the 60th birthday of the VUT, which will be early next year,” Mdekazi said.
Selected fellows will focus their research on key areas including:
-Law and economic justice
-Equitable access to education, healthcare, water, and housing
-The ethical leadership legacy of the Sisulus
-The impact of higher education policy on epistemic inequality
-Post-conflict and post-colonial university reform across Africa
The programme seeks to bridge academia with activism and policy transformation, with the fellow expected to contribute at least two scholarly output units per year, organise seminars and lectures, and present at both local and international conferences.
“The establishment of the Post-Doctoral Fellowship on social justice is expected to surface the intellectual and scholarly contribution of the Sisulus to liberation history with special focus on their ethical leadership paradigm,” the Foundation said.
The call for applications closes on August 28, 2025, with the position seen as an opportunity to shape critical discourse on justice, decolonisation, and leadership transformation in post-apartheid South Africa and beyond.
IOL News