Prof Frans Swanepoel is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST), and Deputy-Director of the African Doctoral Academy (ADA) at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for African Development (IAD) at Cornell University, USA. Formerly, he was Senior Director Research Development and Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of the Free State, South Africa, Dean of Agriculture at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, where he is now an Adjunct Professor, and Professor and Director of the Postgraduate School of Agriculture and Rural Development at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Animal Breeding. He serves on the Board of the South African Agricultural Research Council. During 2008/2009, he was a Fulbright Visiting Fellow at the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD) at Cornell University, USA. He is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), and has recently been appointed as Panel Chair for the national consensus study to revitalise agricultural education and training. He has successfully supervised more than 30 Masters and Doctoral students, and is the author/ co-author of more than 150 journal articles, monographs, reports and book chapters. He is working closely with various African capacity strengthening initiatives, incl. the Forum on Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), TEAM-Africa and the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Initiative. His fields of specialisation include African smallholder agriculture, research and innovation management, agricultural education and training, and capacity development.