Meet Professor Patrick Manditereza, a highly accomplished academic and engineer specialising in power systems, renewable energy integration, and protection systems. Prof. Manditereza is a registered Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), spanning over 30 years of experience in electrical engineering, combining industry expertise with academic excellence. His work encompasses advanced power system studies, postgraduate supervision, and cutting-edge research in renewable energy and protection.

His research addresses key challenges in modern power grids associated with the large-scale deployment of renewable energy technologies, including the development of advanced protection schemes for the modern power grid, strategies for enhancing power system stability in high-renewable penetration scenarios, energy optimisation and dispatch models to balance economic efficiency and grid security, and the application of intelligent monitoring and automation systems on power networks. His research further resulted in two patents US11482855B2 and GB2592147B being granted by the United States (2022) and United Kingdom (2023) offices, respectively, for an innovative protection relay technology. These achievements demonstrate his contributions to global energy security and enhance South Africa’s technological innovation capability.

He has secured over R1.5 million in research funding from entities such as the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). His current NRF Thuthuka-funded project, “Renewable Generation Integration: Strategies for Mitigating Network Protection and System Stability Challenges”, is developing solutions to improve the security and resilience of future renewable energy-dominant power grids.

His innovative contributions have been recognised with the CUT Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Research Innovation (2023).

Prof. Manditereza has successfully supervised several Master’s and Doctoral students, shaped future energy research, and contributed to the global discourse on renewable energy security and smart grid protection through more than 35 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers. He regularly serves as a reviewer for high-impact journals and has examined 13 master’s dissertations and a Doctoral thesis to date in his field of expertise.

His innovative acumen has influenced his pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning where he has developed an innovative laboratory platform with remote capability that serves to address the problem of a high student-to-resource ratio and allows access to the lab from the lecture room, making it possible to seamlessly integrate theoretical and practical learning, enhancing student engagement and understanding of engineering concepts and applications. In addition, Professor Manditereza has introduced industry-standard software and hardware tools, ensuring that CUT electrical engineering graduates acquire skills relevant to technologies that are at the forefront of power system developments and practices.

As the EWSETA Research Chair at CUT from 2021 to 2024, Professor Manditereza led a multi-faceted project funded by Energy & Water SETA (EWSETA), aimed at enhancing skills development, research, and community engagement in renewable energy. He guided the development of industry-focused renewable energy training short courses on solar PV, wind power generation, energy storage, and health and safety. He managed to secure CPD accreditation for the “Renewable Energy Technologies” short course through the South African Council of Educators (SACE). The course is targeted at STEM teachers and has been delivered, in collaboration with the Free State Department of Education, to teachers from various districts of the province. He also led a campaign with the tagline “Energy That Works for You”, educating rural and peri-urban communities in the Free State and Northern Cape provinces on renewable energy and optimal energy use. Despite funding challenges, the EWSETA Chair initiative successfully laid a foundation for long-term renewable energy skills development and research innovation at CUT.

Professor Manditereza’s research and academic contributions align with the Central University of Technology’s strategic focus on innovation, industry collaboration, and sustainable development. His work in renewable energy integration directly supports the university’s commitment to addressing energy security challenges, fostering technological advancements, and enhancing South Africa’s transition to a sustainable energy future. Through the projects that he leads in research, community development, and industry partnerships, he is actively shaping the next generation of technologists, engineers, and researchers while contributing to South Africa’s broader energy transformation goals.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe (1991), an MSc in Real-Time Power Electronics and Control Systems from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom (1997), and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pretoria (2017). He has previously served as a Protection Engineer with the power utility company in Zimbabwe and lectured at universities in Zimbabwe and Namibia, before joining the CUT in 2006, bringing diverse skills and approaches to teaching and learning, research, and community engagement.