Prof Craig McGregor of the Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University (SU) has been selected as one of only two recipients of the University of St Andrews’ Global Fellowship (Practice) for 2027. This prestigious international award recognises leaders whose professional achievements have made a significant impact beyond academia.

The Global Fellowship programme brings distinguished international scholars and practitioners to St Andrews to contribute to the University's research community through collaborative projects, seminars, workshops and strategic engagement activities. Fellows are selected based on their international standing and their ability to strengthen connections between research and real-world practice.

McGregor, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Lead of the Solar Thermal Energy Research Group (STERG) and Acwa Chair in Concentrating Solar Power, was nominated by the School of Chemistry at St Andrews.  His nomination highlighted a career spanning more than two decades in industry and academia, including senior leadership roles at Sasol where he guided technologies from laboratory development through piloting to commercial operation.

Since joining SU in 2019, McGregor has continued to build strong links between research and industry, securing the industry-funded Acwa Chair and establishing research collaborations focused on renewable energy technologies.

The primary focus of his fellowship visit will be to develop a collaborative research programme with the Centre for Clean Energy Research at St Andrews. The partnership will focus on thermochemical long-duration energy storage, a technology regarded as critical for supporting future renewable energy systems.

By combining McGregor's expertise in reactor engineering and systems modelling with St Andrews' strengths in energy materials and catalysis, the collaboration aims to develop a joint research agenda and prepare funding proposals for future international research programmes. Discussions will also explore opportunities in concentrating optics for photo-electrocatalysis and other clean-energy technologies.

Beyond research collaboration, McGregor will contribute to the broader academic community at St Andrews through a series of seminars and workshops. These activities will include presentations on long-duration energy storage, engineering systems analysis and the challenges of scaling laboratory discoveries into commercially viable technologies. He will also present his EPIC framework for critical engagement with generative artificial intelligence in STEM education.

The fellowship is expected to lay the foundation for a long-term partnership between SU and St Andrews. Planned outcomes include joint postgraduate supervision, collaborative research publications and the development of international funding proposals involving partners in South Africa, Europe and the United Kingdom.

According to the nomination, the award will also strengthen ties between St Andrews and South Africa's renewable energy research community through McGregor's affiliation with the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), creating new opportunities for collaboration in the fields of clean energy, sustainability and engineering innovation.

Reflecting on the award, McGregor said he is particularly excited about the opportunity to work with leading researchers in clean energy while building international partnerships that can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy systems.

The fellowship visit will take place during the 2026/27 academic year and will include a research residency of up to 28 days at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.