Daniel is a South African Rhodes Scholar, Allan Gray Fellow, and DPhil (PhD) candidate in International Relations at the University of Oxford. He holds three degrees, has four years of award-winning experience at the highest levels of student leadership, and previously worked with the One South Africa Movement (now Build One South Africa), directly with the former Leader of the Opposition in South Africa, Mmusi Maimane MP. His DPhil at Oxford is sponsored by the Rhodes Trust, the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, and St Catherine’s College.
Daniel strives to improve prospects for sustainable and inclusive development in Africa through his research into the politics of international energy cooperation, specifically looking at African states’ cross-border electricity trade in Southern and Eastern Africa. Building on research from his MPhil (also at Oxford), he compares regionally-dominant states’ electricity trade in these sub-regions, both bilaterally and multilaterally via regional power pools. He has conducted around 100 elite and expert interviews across multiple continents for this research, and has presented at numerous reputable industry conferences in addition.
Daniel has consistently performed at the highest academic levels in three fully-funded degrees: a Master’s degree in International Relations from Oxford, an Honour’s degree in the same discipline from the University of Cape Town (UCT), and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from UCT. Concurrently with these degrees, he has provided research/teaching assistance to various academics, and serves as a Trustee of the Oxford Climate Alumni Network. Additionally, he has served in multiple senior student leadership roles, including as the Social Sciences Divisional Representative at Oxford and as a member of UCT’s Students’ Representative Council. At UCT, he earned multiple awards for his efforts, which include building the University's largest student-run entrepreneurship competition (“The Pitch”). His other extracurricular involvements include various sporting, musical, and service endeavours.
Research & Travel Grants
· DPIR: Cyril Foster Funds; Alastair Buchan Funds; Latey Funds
· Rhodes Trust: Murray Speight Research Fund; Warden’s Discretionary Fund
· University College: Ferard and Leney Travel Funds
· EnergyNet: travel grant for Africa Energy Forum 2023; travel grant for Powering Africa Summit 2024
