Prof. Maxwell Agabu Phiri

Prof. Phiri is the current Dean of the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Blantyre Synod (UBS). Among other degrees, Prof. Phiri holds a Bachelor of Social Science, Major in Industrial Sociology and Management, a Master of Business Administration and a Doctor of Administration degrees, a Diploma in Journalism, Diploma in Radio Programming, backed by extensive academic and industrial experience. This combination gives Prof. Phiri unique skill sets that makes him an excellent classroom competence which is informed by real-life industrial experiences. His extensive industrial and academic experience gives him an unparalleled ability to translate theoretical concepts from textbooks to practical case studies. This has earned him a good reputation and admiration among students and peers.

Drawing from his skills, Prof. Phiri teaches several postgraduate business courses and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research from honours level to doctoral research. Through his initiatives in cohort supervision, Prof. Phiri has graduated 36 PhD and over 90 Masters Students.

Prof. Phiri has participated in cohort postgraduate supervision programme as a facilitator in delivering research methodology and thesis writing seminars. His input to students at PhD and Masters Level has contributed in promoting throughput and growth in postgraduate studies in the former School of Management, IT and Governance at University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Several of his postgraduate students are already senior academics in tertiary institutions in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Because of his mentorship abilities in academia, Prof. Phiri has earned admiration among students, post-doctoral scholars, junior and senior academics. He has also developed new programmes and modules in response to the change in the industry and labour market.