Michael holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Hospitality Management, Moi University, Kenya; Master of Science in International Hotel Management, University of Surrey, United Kingdom; Diploma in Hospitality Management, Institute of Tourism and Hotel School, Austria; and Bachelor of Education (Science), University of Malawi, Malawi. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Hospitality Management in the Department of Hospitality Management; Faculty of Tourism, Hospitality and Management at Mzuzu University and a Postgraduate Coordinator in the Faculty. He boasts of more than 20 years of professional and academic experience as an educator, researcher and consultant in the field of tourism and hospitality management. In 2021, he was awarded a scholarship under the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship-Advanced Scholars (QES-AS) programme, implemented by Carleton University, Ottawa Canada, in partnership with Mzuzu University. The project’s overarching goals included assisting scholars with advanced training in societal transformation and climate change research skills focusing on hospitality management and building an interdisciplinary network of climate change researchers across Canada and various countries in Sub-Sahara Africa. He has vast experience in conducting research and consultancy assignments in both public and private sectors including training and capacity building assignments. He has recently participated as a Trainer in Capacity Building and Skills Development programme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Youth and Women Operating in the tourism industry in Malawi, organised by the Ministry of Tourism with financial support from African Development Bank (AfDB), delivered by the Centre for Development Management/Horwath HTL. He has been a project team member and Tourism Business Management Expert of the Mzuzu University Tourism Business Incubation Centre (MTBIC) project providing public business incubation/development and acceleration services arising from the business incubation under “Promoting Investment and Competitiveness in the Tourism Sector (PICTS)” Project through the Ministry of Tourism, funded by the AfDB. His core areas of expertise and competence are further backed up by an impressive track record of publications especially in the areas of hotel service quality; hotel classification and rating systems; customer satisfaction and experience management; corporate social responsibility in the tourism industry; and sustainable hospitality operations practices and policies. Prior to joining to Mzuzu University, he worked for 8 years at Malawi Institute of Tourism, as a Senior Training Officer in Food Production and Foodservice Management.   Email: sepula.m@mzuni.ac.mw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-sepula Mobile: +265 999 578 737 ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8979-748X

Name: Dr. Zandivuta Kankhuni

Position: Senior Lecturer Department of Tourism, Mzuzu University

Qualifications;

PhD (Hotel and Tourism Management), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2021

Certificate in Hotel Industry Analytics, American Hotel and Lodging Association, 2020

Master of Management (Tourism), Hebei University, China, 2015

BSc Hospitality Management, Mzuzu University, Malawi, 2011

 

Research Interests

Destination competitiveness
Destination marketing
Tourist behaviour

Emmanuel Banda holds a Master of Science (Tourism Management and Marketing), Bournemouth University, United Kingdom, BSc Tourism, Mzuzu University, Malawi, 2012. He teaches undergraduate courses in Tourism Statistics, Economics as well as Digital and Social Marketing among others. He supervises and mark students dissertations.
Research Interest
Etourism and Desitinations, Destination Marketing, Digital and Social Media Marketing, Tourism Statistics and Marketing

Sam is an Instructor for Safari and Tour guiding certificate and diploma programs. Tour Guiding and consultancy for tour operations

Area of Specialisation

Tourism (Safari and Tour Guiding)

Mrs Cecilia Ngwira-Molande (PhD Student) on Study Leave : She holds a Master of Management (Tourism), Hebei University, People’s Republic of China, 2015; BSc Tourism, Mzuzu University, Malawi, 2011. She teaches undergraduate courses in Tourism Management broad discipline. She supervises and mark students dissertations. Cecilia is a co patron of the Tourism and Hospitality Management Student Association.

Areas of Specialization

Cultural Heritage Tourism, Tourism Management, Public Relations and Customer care, Destination Management.
Publication (Articles/ Journals)
Ngwira, C., & Kankhuni, Z.  (2018). What attract tourists to a destination. Is it attractions? African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 7 (1), 1-19
Ngwira, C., & Bello, F. G (2018). Museums as a vehicle for domestic tourism growth in Malawi: an analysis of the push and pull factors.  African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 7 (1), 1-15

Grace Kamanga is a Lecturer in the Tourism Department, Faculty of Tourism, Hospitality and Management at Mzuzu University. She has a Master of Tourism from University of Otago, New Zealand and a BSc in Hospitality Management from Mzuzu University.

Research and publication experience:

She co-authored a paper on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Practices in the Hospitality Industry in Malawi published in the African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure in 2016.
Research Supervisor on a project commissioned by KONRAD ADENAUER STIFTUNG through IPRSE (Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment) in 2016. The project was on Women’s Access to Fair and Secure Land Rights in Malawi: Mzimba and Zomba Districts.

Specialized areas and research interests:

Destination management, sustainable tourism, corporate social responsibility, research methods.

Mathews Lambulira

Is a lecturer in tourism management and the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Hospitality, and Management at Mzuzu University. He holds a Master of Science in tourism management from Bournemouth University (United Kingdom) and a Bachelor of Arts in tourism from Mzuzu University (Malawi). As Deputy Dean, Mathews Lambulira assists the Dean in carrying out managerial and administrative responsibilities within the Dean’s office. As a lecturer, he teaches a variety of courses, including sustainable tourism, tourism planning and development, tourism product development, tourism policies, attraction management, natural area tourism and ecotourism .Tourism and sustainability, tourism policies and strategies, tourism and community development, and tourism education and training are his research interests.

Mathews Lambulira has served on various university committees and task teams including the strategic planning task team, the Alumni Policy Development team, the Academics Planning Committee, the Postgraduate Committee, Job discription review task team, and the Faculty Quality Committee.

Before joining Mzuzu University, he worked as a tourism planning officer for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Wildlife. Mathews Lambulira is also involved in community service and consulting, mostly in the areas of product development, planning and policies, organisation training and skills development, curriculum development, and Public Private Partnership (PPD) framework.

Sydney Banda is a Lecturer in the Tourism Department, Faculty of Tourism, Hospitality and Management at Mzuzu University. He holds a Master of Art Degree in International Tourism and Aviation Management from University of West London, United Kingdom and a BSc in Tourism Management from Mzuzu University. Sydney has worked with Blantyre International University for a number of years before joining Mzuzu University.

Research Areas:

Aviation Management and Airline operations, Strategic Management and Research Methods