The Best Performing Leader in Higher Education 2026

René Pellissier is reshaping higher education across Southern Africa by challenging traditional knowledge systems and institutional models. As Knowledge Co-Production Lead at SARUA, she advances collaborative, adaptive learning ecosystems that prioritize relevance, inclusivity, and innovation, positioning universities as dynamic drivers of societal transformation and long-term regional development.

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René Pellissier – Rewriting the Rules of Knowledge and Transforming Higher Education Across Southern Africa

The most substantial changes in every area of the world do not begin with a massive revelation but with an individual who wants to significantly change their organization. In southern Africa’s higher education system, this individual is Professor Dr. René Pellissier. She enters organisations that have operated on the same business model for many years and begins by asking whether

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Best Performing Leader
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