Adelia Jansen Van Rensburg

Dr Adelia (Susara) J. Jansen van Rensburg is a senior lecturer in the School of Economic Sciences at North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa, a position she has held since 2019. Adelia was appointed as South Africa’s WCP Chair holder in November 2024. She holds a PhD in International Trade and is a trade economist by profession, specialising in international trade, trade policy and trade policy development. Adelia was a postdoctoral fellow in the NWU’s TRADE research focus area from 2017 to 2018. Before joining academia, Adelia served as a trade diplomat with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Secretariat in Windhoek, Namibia (2010–2016). As trade negotiations coordinator in the Directorate: Trade Policy Development and Research, she was mainly responsible for facilitating and coordinating SACU's trade negotiations agenda and work programme and conducting research on various trade policy issues.

Adelia’s research outputs are noteworthy. To date, she has authored and co-authored various journal articles, book chapters, publications and books (all peer reviewed). Some of her latest publications include books on "Africa’s Digital Future: From Theory to Action" and "Digital Developments and Employment: Understanding Trends in Africa". Her research specializations cover the international trading system, trade policy dynamics, geopolitics and geo-economics and how these developments influence trade policy and regional integration (with a special focus on South Africa and Africa). She is also very interested in the ideological tension between the multilateral trade policy approach advocated by the WTO and regional trade arrangements and in terms of trade policy development she focuses on ‘new-generation trade issues’ and in the evolution of ‘deep trade agreements’. Adelia is passionate about helping researchers and policymakers alike to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the international trading system and to use trade policy as a tool to unlock countries’ trade and economic potential.

Adelia has been involved in several national and international research-based projects, and she has worked with a broad cross-section of government, academic, and public and private sector stakeholders over the years. For instance, she was a member of the project team that developed a strategic framework and action plan for the export development and promotion of South Africa’s services sector for South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. Adelia has built up an extensive collaboration network spanning the different segments of the international economics and trade field and she has been a member and research fellow of various bodies like the Going Digital Think Tank at the NWU, the Export Promotion Research Group, the Economic Society of South Africa and Trade Research Advisory. Over the years Adelia has been the recipient of various bursaries, scholarships, fellowships and grants, all in recognition of her exceptional academic/research performance.