Meet our new 2017 bursars

Committed to developing young African scholars, GCI is proud to introduce some of our latest bursars.

Marco Machona: PhD student

Marco graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a BSc in Agricultural Economics (Honours) and an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University (USA). He is currently pursuing a PhD at the GCI, working on the Delivering Food Security on Limited Land (DEVIL) project with Professor Bob Scholes. Having practical experience as a farmer, Marco¡¯s research topic is "Developing Intermediate Complexity Models (ICM) for Neglected Crops in Sub Saharan Africa", which seeks to further understand crop diversification and indigenous crops to mitigate farming risks, in addition to addressing food insecurity and resilience under climate change. Marco is looking at developing and testing generic Intermediate Complexity Models (ICM) which can be easily adapted to new orphan crops, using only the most basic of data regarding their current geographical distribution and yield levels. Marco¡¯s PhD research is funded by the NRF-Belmont Forum through the DEVIL project and is co-funded by the Open Society Foundation ACCAI I project.

Dyani Jeram: Masters student

Dyani graduated with Honours in Environmental Science (cum laude) and received the Post Graduate Merit Award (for Honours) in 2016. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree, funded by the Open Society Foundation ACCAI I project, under the supervision of Prof Coleen Vogel. Dyani¡¯s Masters dissertation involves trying to make sense of water stress in the City of Johannesburg. This involves assessing drought situations with a focus on how water restrictions were managed in the past, how long after the crisis they were put in place, what the conditions for different water restrictions are and who they are set by. She will then attempt to fill in the gaps by hearing the stories of community members, business owners, industries and the City in order to piece together the technical, social, economic and political narratives of the challenges and opportunities linked to water security. 

In addition to her studies, Dyani is also an avid photographer.

Paulose Mvulane: Masters student

Paulose Mvulane recently completed a BA Honours in Geography focusing on Environmental Management and Urban Political Economy. His Honours research focused on the occupation of vacant land for food production and how this gives effect to the idea of urban citizenship, and re-imagines urban space.

Paul¡¯s interests lie in the field of environmental management, paying particular attention to issues pertaining to urban governance, urban food security and ways in which we can create sustainable resilient cities. This year he is undertaking his Masters focusing on urban disasters and urban governance paying particular attention to the cost of the 2016 flash floods that affected the City of Johannesburg and its surroundings. His current research is aimed at making sense of impacts of the 2016 flash floods in the City of Johannesburg, giving special attention to social, economic and environmental impacts. Paulose is currently supervised by Prof Coleen Vogel and receives funding from the Open Society Foundation ACCAI I project.