The Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography is very pleased to welcome the highly regarded and internationally renowned Professor Sara Grobbelaar as a part-time professor.
Prof. Sara Grobbelaar is a researcher specializing in innovation for inclusive development and innovation systems at the Department of Industrial Engineering at the prestigious Stellenbosch University, one of South Africa’s and the African continent’s leading universities, renowned for its international standing and research excellence. Prof. Grobbelaar holds several degrees in Technology Policy (M.Phil, University of Cambridge), Engineering (PhD, University of Pretoria), Computer Engineering (M.Eng, University of Pretoria), and Electronic Engineering (B.Eng, University of Pretoria). She has published dozens of journal articles and conference papers in the field of Innovation for Inclusive Development, with a focus on access to education, food, and health, and has been supervising numerous master’s and doctoral students in their research projects for years. Prof. Grobbelaar and her research group have particular expertise in applying a method known as Event History Analysis and can track how the roles of various actors in projects and innovation processes change over time. In addition to her academic excellence, Prof. Grobbelaar brings many years of industry experience and an outstanding network in both the private and public sectors.
In addition to the numerous international research projects in which she plays an active role, the AFRIN project is particularly noteworthy; since April 2024, she has been collaborating with the IWKG to study the generation and scaling of so-called Advanced Frugal Innovations (AFI) in South Africa and India.
During her stay in Hannover, Prof. Grobbelaar will lead the International Seminar in Economic Geography (ISEG) on the topic of “Innovation for Inclusive Development” in the summer semester of 2026 and will also be available at the institute on a permanent basis as a part-time professor.
We are very much looking forward to her upcoming arrival and to a successful collaboration in teaching and research. 'n Warme welkom, liewe Saartje!
