Contact Info

Inkanyiso Building, Ground Floor, Office 217, Kwa-Dlangezwa Campus

Phone: +27 35 902 6576

Assoc Prof. Joyce Mnesi Mdiniso­

Head of Department

Qualifications:

PhD in Tourism Studies (UZ), MBA (MANCOSA), Environmental Law (UKZN), Bachelor of Education (UKZN), Diploma in Library (UKZN), Bachelor of Arts (UZ)

About

Assoc. Prof Joyce M. Mdiniso is employed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zululand. She has published and co-published with various authors and postgraduate students in both national and international accredited journals. She has reviewed book chapters and journal articles, presented papers, and chaired sessions at local, national, and international conferences.

Assoc. Prof Mdiniso has supervised and successfully graduated postgraduate students at Honours, Master’s, and PhD levels. She has also been involved in notable international collaborative projects, including the Erasmus+ SUCSESS Project and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund Project.

Her excellence in academia has been recognised through several awards, including the Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards for Teaching and Learning (2019), Supervision (2021), and Community Engagement (2023), as well as the 2025 Faculty Excellence Award in Supervision at the University of Zululand.

Research Interests

  • Rural Development
  • Socio-economic Development
  • Eco-Tourism
  • Environmental Management

Professional Membership

  • Member of XX ISA Congress of Sociology Association

Research Databases / Publications