Background
Willem completed his undergraduate studies at Stellenbosch University (South Africa) and eventually also completed his doctorate in social ethics – after a year-long research stay at the University of Tübingen in Germany – at the same university. He collaborates with UP’s Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership on projects on leadership in Africa.
Willem has conducted research at a number of institutions, including the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology (Stellenbosch University), the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Centre for Public Theology (University of Bamberg, Germany), the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School (Port Elizabeth, South Africa), and the Program on Religion and Politics (Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany).
A number of institutions have enabled him to conduct research abroad and engage fellow researchers and practitioners across Africa and elsewhere. These include the National Research Foundation (South Africa), the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung (Germany), Haniel Stiftung (Germany), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (Germany) and the Uongozi Institute (Tanzania). More recently a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation that enabled him to do research at the Humboldt University in Berlin.