It is my singular honour and privilege to extent a very warm welcome to all the delegates attending the third edition of the e-MIG 2023 conference here on the Island of Mauritius. This edition of the e-MIG conference is the third to be held here in Mauritius since the 2017 and 2019 editions respectively. We are indebted to our Mauritian counterparts for their generosity and magnanimity to host this edition of the conference three times consecutively. Traditionally, the e-Mig conference remains unique in its composition, shape and size bringing together delegates from different continents, disciplines and sectors of the economy to debate, share and exchange knowledge, experiences and ideas for the benefit of mankind.

This edition of the e-Mig conference takes place at a critical time following the aftermath of the devastation of COVID 19 that included loss of lives and livelihood, stagnation of economic development and unemployment across the world. Besides, just like during the second edition of e-Mig,  the  higher education sector continues to experience the pressures of globalization, competition, cross border trade, mobility of human capital, disruptive technologies including i4.0 characterized by artificial intelligence, robotics, genomics, machine learning, 5G, Block chain, data analytics and  innovation (product, process, technological and business model innovation). This environment is exacerbated by intractable challenges facing in Africa such as poverty, crime, public health, state capture, governance, and climate change. The delegates to this third edition of e-Mig conference have therefore their job well cut out as they deploy inter-disciplinary set of lenses to find evidence based solutions to these perennial problems facing our continent.

The e-Mig conferences including this one continue to provide perfect platforms for the next generation of scholars to advance their academic and professional careers and in effect opening up opportunities for further study, employment, access to grants and mentorship. As UKZN, we are proud to be part of this exciting conference and wish to invite each and every delegate to take advantage of the opportunity provided here to meet and make new friends and partners by forging strategic partnerships for the benefit of our people.  I wish all of you once again on behalf of the University of KwaZulu-Natal an enjoyable and memorable third edition of e-Mig conference experience.