Mr Jacob Mugumbate

Jacob Mugumbate has experience in university teaching, professional practice and research  in Zimbabwe and Australia.  Jacob's work centres on social justice in relation to marginalised groups such as people with disabilities, remote & rural populations, and the unemployed among others. 

His current research is on disability, employment and social justice in the context of people with epilepsy in Zimbabwe. This research is part of a PhD in Social Work at the University of Newcastle (UoN), Australia under the supervision of Professor Mel Gray (PhD) and Dr Amanda Howard (PhD). Another ongoing study with colleagues at Bindura University is on use of reflection by social work students providing mentorship to children in difficult circumstances. His most recent research on developmental social work fieldwork education in Southern and East Africa was a collaborative effort involving researchers from Australia (UoN), Botswana (University of Botswana) and himself representing Bindura University of Science Education (Zimbabwe). 

He studied Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) and Master of Social Work degrees at the School of Social Work, University of Zimbabwe.  He practised at Epilepsy Support Foundation from 2004-2011, starting off as a volunteer, then student intern and Social Worker upon attaining his bachelor's degree. He assumed a senior managerial position in 2008. In 2009, he was elected to the position of Vice-Chairperson for Regional Executive Committee of epilepsy associations in Africa affiliated to International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) until 2013. He also had the opportunity to attend local, regional and international conferences on epilepsy.

He joined Faculty of Humanities and Social Science at Bindura University of Science Education in Zimbabwe in 2011 as a lecturer where he taught several social work courses from year one to year four until 2015. His work involved teaching, research, field work supervision, dissertations supervisions, committee membership, presenting at conferences (such as the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development 2014, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 2014) and community work such as promoting social work day in Zimbabwe. 

He is a member of both Australian Association of Social Workers and National Association of Social Workers (NASW-Zimbabwe). As a member of  NASW-Zimbabwe, he coordinates African Journal of Social Work and  edits The Social Worker newsletter. 

At the UoN, besides his PhD studies, he has other roles such as lecturing, course coordination and tutoring at the Callaghan and Central Coast campuses and providing mentorship to undergraduate students under a program run by Newcastle University Students Association (NUSA). He also coordinates activities of the African Postgraduate Students Association (APSA), an association he helped to form.  

Going forward with research, Jacob would like to focus more on empowering, culturally relevant and developmental methodologies as a medium of achieving social justice for often disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities.