Professor of Law: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Living by his motto “work hard, play hard, and pray hard”, Professor Avinash Govindjee has seamlessly married his two passions — law and education — as deputy head of the Labour and Social Security Law Unit at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). Recent honours include being awarded Golden Key Society NMMU Lecturer of the Year and winning the faculty’s Researcher of the Year award two years in a row. Govindjee holds several degrees, including a Doctorate in Law from NMMU, which he attained at 27. He was visiting professor at the National Law School of India University in Bangalore in 2011 and has been published extensively in the fields of labour and social security law. Not only is family an extremely important aspect of his life, he is also an avid sportsman/fanatic, playing cricket, tennis and golf, and is an independent director of the Warriors cricket team.

— Billy Rivers

Website:law.nmmu.ac.za