Dr Mbulelo Ncango is the Senior Manager at the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa, champions postgraduate student and emerging researcher support through NRF’s skills development and funding. His dedication to nurturing the next generation of researchers ensures the growth of young scientific talent. As the head of this department, he is responsible for providing strategic leadership and management for the conceptualisation and implementation of strategies for program management focusing on next generation researcher, postdoctoral fellowships and emerging researchers.
In 2011, he was employed as a Plant Pathologist as well as Head of Department (HoD) in the Disease management unit by the Agricultural Research Council – Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ARC-ITSC). He joined the NRF in 2015, as the director responsible for Postgraduate programmes as well as the managing the DSI-NRF Internship programme before it was moved to the HRSC. During this time, he also acted as the Director responsible for the SA PhD programme at the NRF. Between April to December 2023, he was appointed as an acting Executive Director at the NRF responsible for human capital development and strengthen institutional research capabilities.
He is currently serving as an board member of France – South Africa Scholarship Programme and French South African Institute of Technology (F'SATI). He is also an advisory committee member for French South African Agricultural Institute (F’SAGRI) and Advancing Early Career Researchers and Scholars (AECRS) Project managed by Universities South Africa (USAf). In the past he served as a member of the Southern African Citrus Improvement Scheme’s advisory committee.