Bhekisipho Twala is the Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Resources & Planning at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) in Durban, South Africa, a role he assumed on 1 April 2026. He oversees Information Technology & Networks, Human Resources & Development, and Operations & Facilities He is also Founder and CEO of Digital Ascend (Pty) Ltd, an AI and digital transformation consultancy. Previously, Prof. Twala served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Digital Transformation) at Tshwane University of Technology, Executive Dean of Engineering at Durban University of Technology, Professor of AI and Data Science at UNISA, and Director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems at the University of Johannesburg. Earlier, he was a Principal Research Scientist (and later Advisor) at the CSIR's Modelling and Digital Science Unit, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Brunel University (UK) in empirical software engineering. He holds a PhD in AI and Statistical Science from The Open University (UK) and is a Stanford Top 2% Global Scientist, Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and Senior Member of the IEEE. He was named among the Top 75 World Data Academic Leaders by CDO Magazine for his contributions to academic data science leadership. His current research advances AI in electrical and mining engineering, including a project developing accurate, efficient facial recognition software that minimises false positives.