Facilitators: Ms Simangele Shezi is the Research Ethics Manager at Nelson Mandela University (NMU), overseeing the Human and Animal Research Ethics Committees to enable and support research that complies with institutional, national and international standards. She has close to eight years of experience in research management, including seven years in research ethics. She joined NMU in 2024 from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), where she served as a Senior Administrative Officer supporting ethics reviews, national audits, and REC administration. She holds a BA, a BSocSci (Honours), and a Master of Population Studies (UKZN) , and is actively involved in the national research ethics community as an executive committee member of SARIMA’s Eastern Region COP.
Ms Michelle Barnett has worked at Nelson Mandela University for the past 6 years in the Office of Research Development, with her main role to facilitate the implementation of MEOS, the Mandela Ethics Online System. She is now involved across the faculties in training users and providing end-user support for MEOS.