Dr Phil Mjwara

Dr Phil Mjwara has served as the Director General of the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) since April 2006. Dr Mjwara is responsible for all policy development in the science and technology sector in South Africa, as well as the portfolio management and governance of South Africa’s systems of government laboratories.

Prior to his appointment at DST, Dr Mjwara was the Group Executive: Research and Development; Strategic Human Capital Development at the Council for Scientic and Industrial Research (CSIR).

In 2001, Dr Mjwara joined the National Laser Centre (NLC) as its head, where the has been instrumental in growing the centre’s activities since its inception and in creating the African Laser Centre (ALC).

He has also been Director of Technology at the then Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology; professor of S&T policy at the University of Pretoria and a physics lecturer at the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Fort Hare.

He has published and presented numerous papers on physics, technology analysis and foresighting related topics.

Dr Mjwara serves on various advisory councils and boards.