Nelson Masanche Nkhoma

I am an education designer, researcher, and consultant specializing in comparative international development with a particular focus on the sociology of higher education systems. My work applies an interdisciplinary lens and principally mixed methods to examine how knowledge systems shape higher education and development outcomes, especially in emerging economies. Having lived, studied, and worked across higher education systems in the United States, South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi, I bring a provincial and regional analysis to my research and practice. My core research interests include the evolving modalities of higher education financing and the rise of knowledge diplomacy as a development strategy. Currently, I am completing a multi-country research project investigating the role of Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) funding in driving research intensification and doctoral training in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Mozambique as well as the work of United States Agency for International Development in Malawi. Until March 2025, I served as Technical Lead on the Transforming Higher Education Systems Project in Malawi, implemented by Michigan State University, which prematurely concluded due to U.S. aid cuts under the Trump Administration. In this role, I supported ten universities in Malawi to design, pilot, and scale innovative models aimed at improving access, retention, and completion for marginalized students. My new research at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resource’s Open, Distance and eLearning Hub focuses on institutionalization of research and postgraduate education and the impact of dynamics and emergencies of modes of funding higher education and research.