Position: Associate Professor
Qualification(s): PhD (Maths), University of  Natal

Dr Lortan is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the Durban University of Technology where he has held several leadership positions (including Executive Dean, Acting Senior Director: Engagement, and Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic). Apart from Mathematics he has a keen interest in Community Engagement (CE). His involvement with CE began in 1997 through a project marketing STEM professions to high school students. The project extended to other areas in the city of Durban, with significant support engendered through a formal collaboration with Ikamva Youth, an NGO focusing on youth development and educational support.

He has served as a Board member of the Sekusile, a Community Adult Basic Education Centre and the Jirah Academy. Both of these organisations’ primary focus is the provision of post school training and local community skills development. As his management duties at the Durban University of Technology increased in various capacities, his role became more advisory in nature.Since 2011, he has served on the Board of the South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum (SAHECEF), a group of community engagement directors/managers from universities across South Africa. During his term as Chair/President of SAHECEF, his roles included training and networking at a national level, advocacy with government and not-for-profit organisations. One of its foremost advocacy partnerships has been with the National Research Foundation (NRF).

The establishment and promotion of a dedicated funding instrument for the development of Community Engagement as a knowledge field is the centre piece of this partnership.Dr Lortan played a pivotal role in the establishment of the DUT Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) which provides training to social enterprises, cooperatives and small community based businesses. The Centre’s networks with the local municipality and local communities are available to all aspirant social entrepreneurs. The CSE continues to foreground social entrepreneurship as a community engagement activity.Under his leadership, DUT has joined the UNESCO Knowledge for Change Consortium (K4C) as the South African Hub. At the heart of this partnership is the development of the next generation of Community Based Participatory Researchers, drawn from community members and engaged students.Dr Lortan is the Principal Researcher for the South African Qualifications Authority Articulation Research Partnership (2016-2019): Developing an Understanding of the Enablers of Students Transitioning between TVET Colleges and Higher Education Institutions.