Prof. Elizabeth (Liz) Archer, in her role as the Director of Institutional Research at the University of the Western Cape, demonstrates a strategic approach that provides crucial input to the Rector and Executive members of UWC. Prof. Archer’s research focus includes student success in higher education, and she has published dozens of research papers, articles, and book chapters. She has also presented at numerous conferences and has held editorial roles for several academic journals. She served as the editor-in-chief for the 2023 special edition of Perspectives in Education – Adaptable, Resilient and Future-Centric Higher Education, based in South Africa. She was also the editor-in-chief for the 2022 special edition of Mathematics – Applications of Data Mining Algorithms and Big Data Analytics in Education, an international journal. Additionally, she is an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Education, acting as editor-in-chief for the 2021 special edition titled Online Assessment for Humans: Advancements, Challenges and Futures for Digital Assessment. Currently, she is Editing a special issue for Frontiers in Education: Educational Evaluation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa has recognised her contributions to the field. She received the SKYE fellowship and has been involved with the South African Netherlands Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD). Prof. Archer was President of the Southern African Association for Institutional Research (SAAIR) from 2018 to 2019. It is evident not only in her role as a supervisor for numerous Master’s and Doctoral students but also in her advocacy for the integration of technology in education. She believes that technology not only enhances efficiency but also liberates students to focus on conceptual understanding and innovative thinking rather than repetitive tasks. She envisions a future where automation and artificial intelligence are seamlessly integrated into the educational landscape, empowering students to reach new heights in their academic pursuits.

Associate Professor Karen Ferreira-Meyers (Institute of Distance Education, University of Eswatini, Eswatini) holds a PhD in French and Francophone literature – autofiction and autobiography and four MA degrees. She also has a strong track record in teacher development in Southern African contexts and expertise in the area of blended, distance and e-learning and teaching. Her research interests are varied: from teacher training, ODeL, Open Education, Open Schooling, teacher professional development, Artificial Intelligence, online facilitation, digital transformation, self-directed learning, quality assurance in education to autofiction and autobiography, crime and detective fiction, African literatures in so-called European languages. She has published over 100 papers, various book chapters, two books and more than 100 book reviews, many of which are on African literature. She enjoys working collaboratively and has been tasked with the leading of project teams on several occasions.