Stephanie Borchardt

As a dedicated and skilled researcher with 9 years experience, I advocate for tackling energy poverty, advancing sustainable development, and chAmpioning social justice.
My research interests lie in exploring the principles of a just transition, examining the Karoo region as an energy frontier, and delving into the intersection of social and infrastructural justice.

Currently affiliated with the South African Research Chair in the Sociology of Land, Environment, and Sustainable Development at Stellenbosch University.

• Anthropology Southern Africa (ASnA)
• Arid Zone Ecology Forum (AZEF) - managerial committee
• National Response Strategy and Action Plan to Address Illegal Plant Trade in South African Succulent Flora - Expert Advisory board member
• South African Sociological Association (SASA)

Coordinator of photographic exhibition, 06/2021, 11/2021, Photo exhibition highlighted the fieldwork and research engagement of academic scholars in the Karoo region of South Africa

• Expert presenter at capacity building workshop: The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), 05/21/2024, Johannesburg

• Convener: Interdisciplinary Social Research Method workshop, 03/05/2020, Stellenbosch University

• Convener: Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis with IBM SPSS, 05/14/2018 - 05/18/2018; 05/20/2019 - 05/24/2019, SAQA short course, Stellenbosch University

• Convener: Social research method introductory workshop, titled: 'The people side of ecology', 02/23/2017, Stellenbosch University

• Invited Expert Presenter: Energy poverty household energy challenges. Tracking and Influencing African Development Bank Energy Investments in Southern Africa., Action 24 the Southern Africa Node Coordinator for ACCESS Coalition, 05/30/2024, Harare, Zimbabwe

• Invited Panel Moderator and Discussant: What must be in a Just Energy Transition? International Dialogue on Strategic Minerals and Energy Transition in Southern Africa, 04/29/2024 - 04/30/2024, Pretoria, South Africa

• Invited Capacity Building Presenter:Discussing the Critical Issues of Phasing Down Oil, Coal & Gas in Southern Africa. Statutory Meeting of The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR), 05/20/2024 - 05/21/2024, Johannesburg, South Africa

• Invited Panel Discussant: Prospects for South Africa's Transition Towards a Green Economy. Advancing Southern Africa Towards a Green Economy: Harnessing Agriculture and Tourism as Cornerstones for the transition to a low carbon economy, 05/16/2024, Cape Town, South Africa

• Invited Expert Reviewer: Political party manifestos, Policy Dialogue On Resource Extraction, Development and Climate Change in South Africa, 04/24/2024 - 04/25/2024, Johannesburg, South Africa

• Invited presenter: Empowering Communities: Bridging Gaps in Sustainable Development through Renewable Energy in South Africa. Operationalising a Just Transition in Africa (OJTA) Symposium, 02/19/2024 - 02/20/2024, Cape Town, South Africa

• Awarded a Consolidoc Fellowship (nine months) at Stellenbosch University within the Department of Sociology & Social Anthropology. The award is only granted to 17 postdoctoral candidates across different faculties at the university.

• Received a Doctorate bursary (three years) for the DSI/NRF South African Research Chair Initiative (SARCHI).

• South African Sociological Association (SASA) annual student essay competition winner in the honours/master's category.

• Received an MA bursary (three years) for the DST/NRF South African Research Chair Initiative (SARCHI).

• Received an honours bursary (one year) for the DST/NRF South African Research Chair Initiative (SARCHI).

• Borchardt, S. 2024. Shedding light on energy poverty: Household energy challenges in De Aar, a renewable energy hub in the Northern Cape Karoo, Chapter Ten, Contested Karoo: Interdisciplinary perspectives on change and continuity in South Africa's drylands, Cape Town: UCT Press.

• Borchardt, S and Walker, C (Eds). 2023. Cosmopolitan Karoo: Views from the Field. ORMS: Cape Town. ISBN: 978-0-6397-6134-3

• Professor Cherryl Walker, Academic Supervisor, Emeritus, Dept Sociology & Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch University, +27 (0)82 411 3917, cjwalker@sun.ac.za

• Dr. Rhoda Malgas, Senior lecturer, School of Natural Resource Science & Management, Nelson Mandela University, +27 (0)44 801 5129, rhoda.malgas@mandela.ac.za

• Associate Professor Sonja Matthee, Dept Conservation Ecology & Entomology, Stellenbosch University, +27 (0)21 808 4777, smatthee@sun.ac.za