143 Author biographies Mr Herkulaas M.v.E. Combrink is a Research Coordinator at the University of the Free State (UFS) and a Senior Strategic Data Science Support Specialist seconded to the Free State Department of Health during the Covid‑19 pandemic. He is a PhD candidate in Data Science at the University of Pretoria (UP). His interests are in research studies/ projects that integrate machine learning, deep learning, data science, reinforcement learning and analytics to improve the quality of education, and healthcare. This forms part of the Data Science for Social Impact movement by encouraging the engagement on local challenges as a catalyst for innovative solutions across all fields in education and healthcare. His current research interests are in student analytics, learning algorithms, complex systems research, self‑learning algorithms and student simulation models. Dr Graham Dampier works in the Academic Development Centre (ADC) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He holds a PhD in English literature, as well as master’s degrees in Philosophy and in English Literature. His research areas include Marxism, quantitative research, and modern literature. Prof. Leon de Beer is a full Professor, Research Director of WorkWell Research Unit and an NRF‑rated researcher (Y1). He is registered both as an Industrial Psychologist and a Research Psychologist. He has a total of 50 peer‑reviewed academic publications in local and international journals in the field of Industrial Psychology and Human Resource Management. The majority of these articles are based on employee motivation (burnout and work engagement) in organisations. He has authored and co‑authored various validation studies and holds applicable certificates in the statistical software packages that are needed to effectively conduct such studies. Prof. Boitumelo (Tumi) Diale is a registered and practising Educational Psychologist. She is currently Head of the Department of Educational Psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). She also chairs the Faculty’s Transformation Committee and is instrumental in the Transformation Unit activities of the University. As a researcher, Prof. Diale has published articles, conference proceedings, and has presented papers nationally and internationally. Her primary research interest is focused on career development across the lifespan. She is an executive member of the Psychology Society of South Africa (PsySSA), Chairperson of the South African Career Development Association (SACDA) and Section Editor (Educational Psychology) for the South African Journal of Childhood Education (SAJCE). She is an academic board member for the South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP). She also serves as Consulting Editor for the Journal of Educational Psychology, a journal housed by the Nigerian Council of Educational Psychologists in the Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria Nsukka. 144 Dr Karen Dos Reis is a Senior Lecturer and Teaching and Learning Specialist in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa. Her role is to create and implement initiatives to enhance student success and retention that align with the Institutional Operational Plan (IOP). Since 2015, she has been invited by the National Quality Assurance Board (Umalusi) as a team leader and Research Consultant to quality‑assure the national Business Studies’ Grade 12 examination papers and assessment policies. Ms Liesel Engelbrecht is an Industrial Psychology Intern working at LabourNet as part of the Industrial Relations Team. She completed her master’s degree in 2020 at the Potchefstroom campus of North‑West University (NWU) in South Africa. Her dissertation research on coping strategies of emerging adult millennials at a Higher Education Institution delivery site forms the basis of the co‑authored article in this edition of the journal. Dr Carlien Kahl is an independent Research Psychologist who completed her doctoral research on resilience, transitions, facilitating, and enabling adjustment across contexts through multi‑level, systemic understandings. She coordinates the StudyWell project at North‑West University (NWU) in South Africa and leads the qualitative analyses of the project. She is a senior accredited ATLAS.ti trainer, avid reader and methodologist. Ms Adéle Kapp is an Intern Industrial Psychologist at the University of the Free State (UFS). She completed her master’s degree in 2019 at the North‑West University (NWU) in South Africa. She has conducted research on the topic of student motivation, which is focused on validating an existing scale for use within a South African sample. Prof. Thierry M. Luescher is the Research Director for Post‑schooling and Work in the Inclusive Economic Development Division of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Cape Town, and an affiliated Associate Professor in Higher Education Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), Mangaung, South Africa. Before that, he was Assistant Director for Institutional Research at the UFS, a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Studies and extraordinary Senior Lecturer in Political Studies at the University of the Western Cape, and a Senior Researcher in the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET), Cape Town. He has a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from the UFS and obtained his PhD in Political Studies from the University of Cape Town. Thierry is an NRF‑rated researcher with expertise in higher education studies, policy and governance, the student experience, student politics, student affairs, and higher education development in Africa. He is a founder and editor of the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa, and member of the editorial boards of the Journal of College Student Development, Makerere Journal of Higher Education and African Higher Education Dynamics. Thierry recently edited the books Student Politics in Africa: Representation and Activism (with M. Klemenčič and J.O. Jowi, 2016) and Reflections of South African Student Leaders, 1994‑2017 (with D. Webbstock and N. Bhengu, 2020). His publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www.thierryluescher.net. http://www.thierryluescher.net 145 Dr Henry Mason (D Litt et Phil) is a social science Researcher at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in Pretoria, South Africa. He is registered as a Research Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, holds a Y‑rating from the National Research Foundation and is a past President of the Southern African Association for Counselling and Development in Higher Education (SAACDHE). Additionally, Henry acts in the role of Chairperson of the TUT Research Ethics Committee. His research interests include positive psychology, with a specific emphasis on purpose, meaning and eudaimonic well‑being amongst student populations, self‑regulation applied to the learning process, secondary traumatic stress, post‑traumatic growth, and research methodology and ethics. Prof. Venicia McGhie is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa. She is the coordinator of the Academic Literacy Programme in the aforementioned faculty and manages the faculty’s first‑year orientation programme. Prof. Teboho Moja is Clinical Professor of Higher Education at New York University. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), and an Extraordinary Professor at the Institute of Post‑School Studies, University of the Western Cape (South Africa) Her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. Teboho has held key positions at several South African universities, including being appointed Chair of the Council of the University of South Africa. She has held positions as Professor Extraordinaire at the University of Pretoria, the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Western Cape, and has been Visiting Professor at the University of Oslo (Norway) and the University of Tampere (Finland). She was instrumental in setting up the Centre for Higher Education Trust (CHET) in South Africa and is currently serving as Chair of its board. In addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the UNESCO Institute for International Education Planning and the World Education Market. She has also served as Executive Director and Commissioner to the National Commission on Higher Education (1995‑1996) appointed by President Mandela. Before joining New York University, Teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post‑1994 South Africa. She has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and the impact of globalisation on higher education, and co‑authored a book on educational change in South Africa. She is a founding member and Editor‑in‑chief of the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa. Prof. Karina Mostert is a Professor in Industrial Psychology in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the Potchefstroom campus of North‑West University (NWU) in South Africa. She conducted research on the topic of occupational health and well‑being, and focused on subjective well‑being, burnout, engagement, work‑home interference, and strengths use. Her research focus shifted to the health and well‑being of university students, with a specific focus on their experiences, engagement and psychological resources that can assist in optimal functioning and performance. She is leading the project, StudyWell: 146 Student Well‑Being and Success, at NWU. The project aims to develop a valid, reliable, culturally sensitive online analytical processing tool, informed by an in‑depth qualitative investigation, to assess and proactively monitor the study climate, individual traits, states and behaviour of students to inform targeted and cost‑effective interventions. Dr Soraya Motsabi is a qualified teacher, who completed her BA degree, Higher Education Diploma (HED) and B Ed at the University of South Africa (Unisa). She then enrolled for a master’s degree in Educational Management, which she completed at the then Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), now the University of Johannesburg (UJ). She developed a passion for Psychology and completed her Honours in Psychology at Vista University, after which she pursued a Master of Arts (Counselling Psychology) at RAU. She has been in the education sector for 42 years as a Teacher, a Student Counsellor, an Academic Development practitioner, and later as the First‑Year Experience (FYE) Coordinator at UJ. She is presently retired and runs a small private practice in Alberton, South Africa. Mr Nkosini Ngwenya is a sociologist and a data scientist. He works as a Senior Researcher in the Academic Development Centre (ADC) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Previously, he worked as a Student Development Practitioner (SDP) in the Student Affairs division at UJ. His research interests are in human settlements, higher education, student success, and ethics. He holds a master’s degree in Sociology (cum laude) and is currently completing his doctoral studies. His PhD thesis focuses on the integral role of institutional intervention programmes available to first‑generation low‑income university students. Dr Annsilla Nyar is Director of the South African National Resource Centre for the First‑Year Experience and Students in Transition (SANRC). Prior to this, she held several senior management positions, i.e. that of Senior Researcher at the Gauteng City‑Region Observatory (GCRO), a partnership between Gauteng Provincial Government, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), and Research Manager at Higher Education South Africa (HESA), now Universities South Africa (USAF). Annsilla holds a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu‑Natal (UKZN), and a PhD through the Department of Political Studies at Wits. Annsilla’s key academic interest is in social justice and the politics of transition and transformation in South Africa. Mrs Lauren L. Oosthuizen is part of the management structure of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of the Free State (UFS). She leads the University’s compulsory First Year Seminar and its Graduate Attributes project. Her experience is related to supporting students in the transition from high school to university, delivering high‑impact practices at scale, teaching large classes with a focus on student engagement and learning‑centred teaching, and curriculum development and design. 147 Prof. Jacobus Pienaar is an Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University, Sweden. His research interests, supervision and publication list include themes of individual and organisational moderators of work stress, and job insecurity in particular. He is also interested in the relation between work and individual health and well‑being, in which coping plays a prominent role. Dr Birgit Schreiber is a member of the Africa Centre for Transregional Research at Alberts‑Ludwig‑Universität Freiburg, Germany, and the Vice‑President of IASAS, the Executive Editorial for the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa, a consultant for Higher Education Leadership and Management, and for Stellenbosch University, where she is leading the Secretariat for the International Network for Town and Gown Universities. Prior to this, she was the Senior Director of Student Affairs at Stellenbosch University and the Director of the Centre for Student Support Services at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in Cape Town. She holds a PhD from UWC. Birgit has published in national and international academic journals and books on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences, and has given lectures at UC Berkley, the University of Leuven, and the University of Oslo. She was a visiting scholar at the UC Berkeley, where she was involved in their Student Affairs department. She has been a member of the national executive of various professional organisations, including the South African Association of Senior Student Affairs Professionals (SAASSAP), and the Southern African Federation of Student Affairs and Services (SAFSAS). Dr André van Zyl has a master’s degree in Strategic Management and a PhD in Higher Education. His main research focus is in the area of student success with specific focus on first‑year students. He has spoken at various national and international conferences. He was responsible for initiating the First‑Year Experience (FYE) initiative at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He has spearheaded the setting up of a National Resource Centre for the FYE in South Africa. The SANRC is now fully functional and housed on the APB campuses of the UJ. He has been working at UJ since 2004 and has worked as a Learning Development Facilitator, FYE Coordinator and since late 2012 as the Director of the Academic Development Centre (ADC) at UJ. Dr Antoinette Venter is the Deputy Chief Education Specialist of Economic and Management Sciences of the Western Cape Education Department, South Africa. She facilitates curriculum and teacher‑development support initiatives and ensures that the curriculum remains dynamic and participates in national processes. She is also the provincial Coordinator of the Employability Entrepreneurship Education (E3iS) Project in schools in the Western Cape Province.