Change starts with thought-provoking questions and meaningful conversations. UKZN doctoral student Melissa Sibanda is taking hers to the international stage, driven to bring issues like poverty, gender inequality, and energy access experienced by everyday South Africans to the world’s attention.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (25 October 2026) – Prevailing issues like poverty, inadequate housing, and the challenges women face in informal settlements without reliable energy have long piqued Melissa Sibanda’s interest.
She has asked thought-provoking questions, offered insightful observations, and dedicated hours of research to the realities experienced by far too many on the margins of society – and now, the world is taking notice!
A doctoral student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Melissa won the national BRICS Debate Championship earlier this year and is now set to represent South Africa at the international finals in Moscow, Russia, this December.
Sibanda will compete against national champions from the other BRICS founding countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), where the winner of the international championship will receive a fully sponsored academic exchange at a university of their choice in a BRICS country.
A PhD student in Geography, Planning, and Housing within the School of Social Sciences, Sibanda’s research focuses on the disproportionate burden borne by women living in informal settlements without reliable, affordable energy.
Her interest in the BRICS Debate was sparked in 2024, when funding from UKZN’s College of Humanities Research Office allowed the 29-year-old to attend the 3rd BRICS Research Institute Conference in China.
“I went in as a housing researcher and came out convinced that the questions I care about, such as poverty, gender, energy, and how cities are built globally, are exactly the ones being negotiated in multilateral spaces. It reinforced, for me, the importance of the Global South setting its own terms, rather than simply inheriting someone else’s.”
With an urge to contribute to those conversations rather than merely observe them, Sibanda applied to the open call for the BRICS Debate in March of this year. In preparation, Sibanda immersed herself in the history, structures, and institutions of BRICS, while examining the political and economic interests of its member states and debates around reforming global governance.
“That tension is precisely the debate’s theme: whether BRICS reforms global governance or reproduces existing inequalities,” she added.
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“This is what the national rounds have taught me, and I intend to carry this with me.”
Sibanda also plans to listen as carefully as she argues. As she eloquently puts it:
“To represent South Africa well doesn’t require out-talking anyone; instead, it calls on engaging seriously with their positions while maintaining my own evidence-based perspective with clarity.”
Dr Normah Zondo, Executive Director of the Corporate Relations Division, congratulated Sibanda, saying her achievement is a proud moment for UKZN and a powerful reflection of the calibre of students and staff.
“We congratulate Melissa on this outstanding achievement, which reflects not only her intellectual ability and confidence, but also the global perspective and critical engagement that we seek to cultivate in our students. Her success demonstrates the value of rigorous scholarship, informed debate, and the ability to engage with complex global issues with clarity, evidence, and purpose.”
Zondo is particularly proud of how Melissa applies her academic knowledge to issues with profound consequences for communities, including poverty, gender inequality, energy access, and the development of cities across the Global South.
“In doing so, she demonstrates how scholarship can extend beyond the classroom to contribute meaningfully to the conversations shaping our shared future. Her achievement is a testament to the calibre of young scholars emerging from UKZN and to the important contribution they are making to global intellectual discourse.”
We join UKZN in wishing Melissa every success as she takes her place on the international stage and represents South Africa with the intellectual rigour, confidence and distinctive perspective that have defined her academic journey.
Sources: University of KwaZulu-Natal
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