Professor Vishanth Weerakkody
Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor - Member of the Steering Committee
Professor Vishanth Weerakkody is a globally recognised authority in digital governance, business process reengineering, and social inclusion, with over 30 years of combined academic, research, and industry leadership. He currently serves as Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Partnerships and Professor of Digital Governance at the University of Bradford, UK. Previously, he was Dean of the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences, and earlier held senior leadership roles at Brunel University London. His professional background also includes work as a Methods and Process Analyst at IBM UK, giving him a strong blend of academic rigour and industry insight.
Professor Weerakkody’s pioneering research focuses on public sector transformation, e-government adoption, smart cities, and digital inclusion, with particular emphasis on the role of process reengineering and social innovation in enhancing citizen trust and access to services. He has published extensively in leading journals, with landmark works such as Transformational Change and Business Process Reengineering in the Public Sector (2011) and Balancing Digital-by-Default with Inclusion (2019) shaping policy and practice globally. His widely cited studies on big data, blockchain adoption, e-participation, and social cohesion have had strong international influence, with over 3,000 citations to date.
Beyond academia, Professor Weerakkody has led and secured over £25 million in R&D funding from the EU, British Council, Qatar Foundation, and UK local government, contributing to projects that improved digital transformation in health, governance, and education. His evidence has been presented before the UK Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee, where he advised on Universal Credit and Common Agricultural Policy reforms.
For AFDEG 2026, Professor Weerakkody serves on the Steering Committee in a cross-cutting advisory role, ensuring that themes of digital governance, business process reengineering, and inclusive digital transformation are embedded across all tracks. His expertise will be pivotal in aligning the conference agenda with the goals of social inclusion, effective service transformation, and sustainable governance innovations across Africa’s digital economy.