Ms. Zoleka Ngcete
Project Manager, Medical Research Council
Zoleka.Ngcete@mrc.ac.za
Ms. Zoleka Ngcetejoined MRC as a Project Manager within the SHIP team in March 2015. Prior to joining SHIP, Zoleka served as the Business Development Manager for the Eastern Cape regional office of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). Zoleka’s main functions included the development and implementation of regional annual plans for the TIA; identifying and evaluating funding opportunities in various sectors; supporting management of the TIA portfolio in the province; as well as contributing to the promotion of technology innovation in general in the region. Prior to joining TIA Zoleka served as the Programme Manager for the South African Malaria Initiative (SAMI), one of the initiatives that currently form part of the SHIP portfolio. The initiative brought together a multi-disciplinary research consortium comprising a number of South African research institutions to collaborate on finding new solutions to combat malaria. The portfolio included drug discovery, diagnostics development and vector parasite biology. Zoleka’s role entailed coordinating the development of a sound governance structure; developing and managing the SAMI portfolio as well as building local and international partnerships to support SAMI objectives. Zoleka has a BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology, an MSc in Biotechnology from Rhodes University as well as Diplomas in Project Management and Business Management.