Isaac Mazonde, who holds a doctorate in Economic Geography from the Victoria University of Manchester (1987) and reached full professorship of Economic Geography at the University of Botswana in 2017, has served as a Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow in Rural Development at the former National Institute for Development Research and Documentation from 1981 to 1997 when rose to the level of Associate Professor. He acted as the Director of the National Institute for Research and Development from 1997 till 2001 when he was appointed Deputy Director of the newly established Office of Research and Development, eventually heading the Office from 2005 until 2014 when he transferred to the Department of Environmental Science.

His role at the Office of Research and Development was to develop, coordinate and manage the research agenda of the University of Botswana in collaboration with the Deans of Faculty and leaders of research structures such as the Research Institutes and Centres, under the supervision of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

At BA ISAGO University, which he joined as Manager for Research and Innovation in January 2021, his mandate is to establish and manage the research office with a strong leaning towards innovation. The overall organizational structure for conducting intensive research and beneficiating learners’s entrepreneurial ideas is being completed while at the same time, research is intensifying among faculty members following strong, well planned and well coordinated training in the various aspects of research including seeking research funding. 

Setting up the Innovation Centre, which provides the conceptual framework for helping graduate students develop start ups as the key way of beneficiating their intellectual capital, is nearing completion and its execution is scheduled to commence before the end of this year (2022). The growth in research outputs following intensive training and advocacy in publishing is being facilitated by a journal which has just been established based on a revised Research and Innovation Policy which sets high quality standards that are comparable with those in the international  academic community. 

Mazonde’s ambition and goal is to position BA ISAGO University as a student centred and knowledge based research intensive entrepreneurial centre of choice for all stakeholders over the next three years.