Karien Venter

Senior Researcher at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Dr. Karien Venter is a passionate social scientist and senior researcher at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), where she has dedicated her career to understanding the human side of transport systems. With more than twenty years of experience in road safety and transport behaviour, she has become one of the leading voices in shaping evidence-based approaches to safer, smarter mobility across Africa.

Her journey began at the University of Pretoria, where she earned honours degrees in both Psychology and Criminology. Driven by a fascination with how people think, act, and interact within complex systems, she later pursued a master’s and PhD in Civil Engineering at Stellenbosch University, focusing on the behavioural dimensions of road safety. Her doctoral work explored how new drivers develop hazard perception.

At the CSIR, Dr. Venter works within the Smart Mobility cluster, leading projects that merge engineering, psychology, and data science to improve road user safety. She has contributed to national studies on distracted and fatigued driving, the development of South Africa’s Naturalistic Driving Studies (NDS) programme, the Cost of Crashes Methodology and the creation of the South African Road Safety Assessment Methods (SARSAM 2022) — a benchmark framework used by engineers and policymakers alike. She continues to promote industry specific initiatives such as the Transport Safety Lab and Performance Based Road Restraint Systems. She served as technical lead for the Anglo-American Impact Catalyst Limpopo Road Safety Programme and is currently part time seconded to the Eastern Cape Department of Transport to assist with various research functions in the Eastern Cape. Her research focus on advancing the scientific understanding of road user behaviour in context for the design of safer roads, vehicles, and public awareness campaigns.

Beyond her research, Dr. Venter plays a role in several national and international committees. She serves as Chair of the Education Committee for the South African Road Federation (SARF) and is a researcher on the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) research panels for traffic engineering, road safety, and innovation. She is also a member of the Road Incident Management Systems (RIMS) National Technical Committee – New Energy Vehicle Commission. She contributes to the Department of Transport National Road Traffic Engineering Technical Committee’s (NRTETC) subcommittees for South African Road Assessment Methods (SARSAM) as well as serves on the road safety research, traffic calming, and road signage committees. She is currently the convenor of the South African Transport Conference (SATC) South African Road Federation (SARF) Engineering for Safe System Forum (ESSF) which aims to enhance knowledge sharing and providing a platform for information dissemination in the road safety engineering domain.

Dr. Venter has presented her work at the Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) and various international platforms. Her thought leadership was recognised through nominations for the JD Roberts Award and Project EDWARD, celebrating her contributions to advancing road safety in South Africa. In 2024, she delivered a keynote address for the South African Insurance Association, and in 2025 she joined the Reimagine Road Safety Summit as a panel member — reflecting her growing role as a public advocate for the Safe System Approach.

Karien believes in collaboration, bringing people together to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Her mission is to project-by-project make transport systems not only more efficient, but also safer and more humane.

Farai is an energy transition, climate and sustainability specialist with over 10 years’ experience working at the intersection of strategy, policy

and implementation. He advises governments, international organisations and private-sector partners on translating sustainability and climate ambitions into practical, measurable and investment-ready outcomes.

His expertise spans sustainability and climate mitigation across the energy, transport, industrial and agri-food value chains. Farai leads and contributes to policy and business case development as well as regional collaboration initiatives that align decarbonisation objectives with economic development, energy security and long-term competitiveness.

With deep experience in African and emerging market contexts, he supports institutions in designing credible sustainability frameworks, aligning with international standards and structuring resilient value chains that deliver both environmental integrity and socio-economic impact. He is actively engaged in advancing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) value chain development in Africa, particularly through linking low-carbon fuels to regional agricultural and industrial systems.

Farai holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering and is finalising his PhD focused on developing SAF value chains linked to South Africa’s sugarcane industry. His combined technical, policy and market expertise positions him as a recognised knowledge leader in sustainability and climate-aligned industrial development.