Full professor
Department of Construction Management
Winston.Shakantu@mandela.ac.za
041 504 2394
North Campus
Biography / Background
Professor Winston Shakantu is a Full Professor of Construction Management at the Nelson Mandela University. Winston’s academic qualifications include a BSc in Building, an MSc in Construction Management from the University of Reading and a PhD from Glasgow Caledonian University. He also attended a post-graduate course in International Construction Management and has been inducted into the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) as a Professional Construction Manager (Pr.CM), and the Chartered Institute of Building as a Corporate Member (MCIOB), and a Chartered Construction Manager.
He has held the posts of Director: MSc in Project Management; Director: MSc in the Built Environment; Director of a Research Institute; Programme Convenor: BSc Quantity Surveying; Programme Convenor: BSc in Construction Management and Head of Department of Building and Director of School of the Built Environment. He has also sat on high-level university committees including Senate; Faculty Management; Faculty Research; University Ethics- Human; Faculty Promotions; Faculty Equipment; Faculty Computer; Dean’s Advisory; Faculty Strategic; Faculty Undergraduate Programmes; Faculty Postgraduate Programmes; Faculty Appeals and Readmissions and Faculty Board. In addition, he has undertaken programme development work leading to the introduction of new degrees in Quantity Surveying and Construction Management. Furthermore, he has championed programme accreditation and quality assurance work for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Research Interests
In general terms, Winston’s research interest is in the broad area of Construction Management. Specific areas of interest have been eclectic; ranging from Construction Cost Control through Risk Management to Supply Chain Logistics Management at BSc, MSc and PhD respectively.
Winston’s completed research includes Construction Sustainability, Indigenous Construction Technology, Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise Contractors, Construction Logistics, Risk Management and Health and Safety. Winston was a member of the teams commissioned by the cidb and the MEDS to produce the construction health and safety in South Africa and Western Cape construction industry development strategy reports. Current research interest and work are in SMMEs, Contractor Development, Construction IT and Innovative Technology.
Supervision
Winston has supervised research projects for Honours, Masters and PhD students. He has supervised to successful completion, 20 PhD candidates.
Research Interests
There are various Health Information Technologies (HITs) that can play an important role in improving informational continuity of care in the healthcare sector and thus contribute towards improved quality of care. Such technologies include, amongst others, Personal Health Records (PHRs), Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and Electronic Health Records (EHRs). My research has mainly focused on these HITs and various aspects related to the lack of adoption and meaningful use of such systems in the South African healthcare landscape. Despite the well-researched benefits associated with the adoption of such HITs the adoption rates remain low due to various socio-technical factors.
I have recently also started exploring research topics related to social media and social networking. Recent research projects in this area related to the awareness and compliance of stakeholders in the higher education sector towards social media policies at their institutions, as well as social networking addiction amongst students in higher education.
List of Publications
Winston has published in excess of 100 papers in Journals and conferences and presented papers at conferences in Africa, Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania. With regard to national research contributions, Winston was invited to serve on the "NRF Technikon Research Development Programme (TRDP) Advisory Committee" for the Cape Technikon to assist with the Niche Area on "Sustainable Urban and Housing Development"; 2007, 2013 and 2018 Engineering Funding Applications Review Panel; Italy/Germany Panel Review in 2013 and Thutuka Engineering panel Review 2013; In 2015 and 2016 Winston was invited to review 6 NRF Rating Applications. In February 2018, Winston was invited to serve on the NRF Research Chairs Initiative Review Panel.
Winston has been invited to review papers and join the peer review panels for the following journals: Engineering, Design and Technology; Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building (AJCEB); Construction Management and Economics; Construction Innovation, Information, Process and Management; Journal of Construction Procurement; Journal of Construction; Conference Series on Sustainable Built Environments; COBRA Conference Series; Construction Industry Development Board series of Conferences SACQSP Series of Conferences; CIBW107, TG59, W092 and CIB World Conferences; ASOCSA Built Environment Conference Series and the South African Health and Safety Conference Series.