Professor Jabulani Makhubele currently holds the esteemed position of Director – Research and Innovation at the University of Venda in Thohoyandou, Republic of South Africa. With an impressive career spanning over several institutions, he previously served as a Professor and Head of Department at the University of Limpopo in the Department of Social Work, dedicating 14 years to his role. Prior to this, he also had a brief tenure at North West University.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Professor Makhubele has made significant contributions in the realm of government. He served as a provincial manager in the Free State Provincial Government’s Department of Social Development, overseeing Substance Abuse Services and Youth Development Programmes. Furthermore, he held the position of Principal Social Worker in the Department of Correctional Services.
Within academia, Professor Makhubele has demonstrated his commitment to nurturing the next generation of scholars. He has successfully supervised the research of more than 37 Master of Social Work (MSW) students and 17 PhD candidates. His dedication to knowledge dissemination is evident through his extensive publication record, which includes over 80 articles in accredited and refereed journals, as well as the editing of a book and the authorship of more than 5 book chapters.
Professor Makhubele’s research interests encompass a wide range of critical areas, including Public Health Social Work issues such as substance abuse, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), climate change, and migration studies. His expertise has led to fruitful collaborations and projects both domestically and internationally, with notable partnerships in Namibia, Finland, and Sweden. Notably, Professor Makhubele has been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting commissioned studies.
One such example is his leadership of a team investigating substance use, misuse, and abuse among the youth in Limpopo province, funded by the Department of Social Development’s Research and Population Unit. Additionally, he played a pivotal role in the development and implementation of the highly acclaimed Offender Treatment Programme, which has been successfully adopted nationwide by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
In addition to his significant contributions in the field, Professor Makhubele serves as an esteemed external examiner for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies at renowned institutions, both locally and internationally. These include universities such as Wits, University of Johannesburg, University of KwaZulu-Natal, North West University, University of Cape Town, University of Namibia, and University of Zimbabwe, among others. Recognized for his exceptional research prowess, Professor Makhubele holds the esteemed C3 NRF Rating and was honoured as the Overall Best Researcher at the University of Limpopo in 2021.
