Dr Munsami holds a PhD in Physics, a Master of Business Leadership, a Space Studies Program Diploma, and a Certificate in International Air, Space and Telecommunications Law. He worked in South Africa’s Secretariat for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, managed the implementation of a suite of bilateral and multilateral science and technology agreements, involved in the development of South Africa’s National Space Strategy and National Space Policy, and oversaw the establishment of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA). He was also responsible for Research, Development and Innovation at a national level overseeing a portfolio of domains, including Biotechnology and Health, Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Renewable Energy, Space Sciences, Astronomy, and Technology Innovation and Intellectual Property Management. On winning the bid in 2012 to co-host the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the biggest radio astronomy project in the world together with Australia and eight African partner countries, he became the Chief Specialist for Astronomy and African Space Science. In this role, he led the development of South Africa’s Multi-Wavelength Astronomy Strategy and the SKA Readiness Strategy for Africa. He also chaired the African Union Space Working Group, which was tasked with the development of the African Space Policy and the African Space Strategy. He was the CEO of SANSA for five years, a member of the South African Council for Space Affairs and a former Vice President of the International Astronautic Federation. He is inducted as an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics and sits on the Advisory Boards of the Space Generation Advisory Council. He is currently the Chancellor of the International Space University, a co-Founder of the African Space Leadership Institute, and most recently appointed as the Deputy CEO of Saudi Space Agency.
