Prof. David Alfred Mfinanga

Prof. David Alfred Mfinanga

Prof. David Alfred Mfinanga is the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam since December 2014. He is a Professor in Transportation Engineering in the College of Engineering and Technology. He graduated with PhD from Kyushu University in Japan in 1998, Master of Science from Miyazaki University in 1995 and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1991 (honors) (Dar). He has held various positions at the University of Dar es Salaam including Principal of the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), which is a constituent college of the University of Dar es Salaam, from 27^th April 2012 to 4^th December 2014; Director of Undergraduate Studies (2010-2012); Deputy Director of Undergraduate Studies (2008-2010); Departmental Examinations Officer; Departmental Postgraduate Studies Coordinator; Faculty Finance and Planning Coordinator; College Timetable Coordinator and Consultancy (BICO) Coordinator (1998-2004); and University Coordinator of Matriculation and Admissions (2004-2008). He is still involved in the core functions as a normal staff member and was declared the best worker for 2013 in the Department of Transportation and Geotechnical Engineering.

Prof. Mfinanga has also served as Chairman of the Boards of Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), Roads Technical Committee (2011 - May 2014); University Computing Centre (UCC) (2013 to December 2014); and Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (DART) (since 2013). He has been member of Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) Accreditation Committee (since 26^th December 2013) and Member of the Scholarship and Staff Exchange Committee of the Inter-University Council for East Africa (since 1^st July 2014). He is also involved in public service and his recent works include Preparation of a Policy Discussion Paper on Existing Trends, Emerging Issues and Strategies on Mobility and Accessibility in Urban Areas of Africa (for the World Bank SSATP, 2013) and Facilitation for Harmonization of Road Transport (for the East African Community, 2011-2013).

Prof. Mfinanga is a prolific African researcher in transport engineering and is a co-leader of the African Centre of Excellence on Public Transport and Non-motorised Transport (ACET) which is a joint effort of the Universities of Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Cape Town. Prof. Mfinanga has published numerous papers in international journals and among his major awards include for his paper on “Ineffective Intersection Control in Developing Countries:  Case of Dar es Salaam City” winning the Prize of Best Paper on Transport in Developing Countries at the biggest conference on Transport research i.e. 12^th World Conference on Transport Research held in Lisbon in 2010. He has recently, together with other international co-authors, submitted a book titled “Paratransit in African Cities: Operations, Regulation and Reform” to be published by Earthscan.

Prof. Mfinanga is fluent in Kiswahili, English and Japanese (conversational).