She is currently lecturer at the University of the Free State in the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management. She completed her BSc Quantity Surveying degree in 2006, BSc Honours in Quantity Surveying in 2007, MSc Quantity Surveying in 2011 and is currently busy with her PhD in Higher Education at the University of the Free State. She has written numerous conference publications and proceeding and attended various national and international conferences where these publications were presented. She is a member of RICS and SACQSP. She also owns a professional QS practice, namely Mart-Mari Els Quantity Surveyors t/a MMEQS. She is involved in various special projects and initiatives as well as community projects.

Karel obtained an honours degree in Urban Geography from the University of the Orange Free State and an MBA from the Potchefstroom University Business School. He started his career at FNB’s branch and ATM network planning division. Over the span of 14 years at the Bank Karel worked at various departments and divisions gaining valuable analytical, project management and general business experience. He ended his career at the Bank, heading the advanced analytics and data modelling department. From June 2007 Karel was heading the ECE Project Developments Company, a subsidiary of a property syndication and investment business, providing program and project management services to both the property development and information technology environments. Karel was appointed as Senior Project Manager at Calgro M3 in January 2009 where he was responsible for various residential housing developments spanning across different market segments over the entire property development life cycle and value chain. This included mid to high income residential development, retirement estate as well as fully integrated housing projects requiring Government funding. Karel started a property development and project management consulting company, named O5 Projects during the course of 2018. In addition to the consulting company Karel took up full time employment at the Bigen Group (Engineering Consulting) at the end of 2019 till July 2022, as senior property development manager. From August 2022 Karel become part owner and director of the Innovative Consolidated Group, a holding company with various subsidiaries including a steel construction company, educational institution, property development company and other.

He is an emeritus professor of the Department of Construction Economics at the University of Pretoria since 1990 where he held the endowed SACSC Chair in Shopping Centre Studies (2016-2020). He studied at the University of Pretoria, Oxford University (England) and at Unisa. Simultaneous with completing a PhD in Chemistry he completed a BA(Hons) (Philosophy, cum laude), and later also did a MBL and a BTh (both awarded cum laude). He has been a chief scientist at the CSIR, property development manager at a construction company and managing director of a project management company.

He is certified as a Professional Construction Project Manager (Pr CPM) with the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) and a Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute (PMI). He obtained his National Diploma and Baccalaureus Technologies Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2001 and 2002 respectively and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 2005, followed by a PhD (Construction Management) degree in 2008.

He is the Director and Senior Quantity Surveyor at a Quantity Surveying Company and completed his Bachelor of Commerce in accounting in 2006 and his BSc (Quantity Surveying) (Honours) degree in 2008. He was a lecturer in Project Facility Management at the University of the Free State and is a member of the following associations: Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS); registered at the South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession (SACQSP); and The South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) – Candidate Construction Project Manager.

He obtained the degrees BSc (Building Management), MBA and PhD from the University of Pretoria and is presently an emeritus professor of the University of Pretoria, where he was head of the Department of Construction Economics when he took early retirement to develop other interests. He has presented many papers at national and international conferences and published numerous research articles on a variety of subjects. He is also the author and/or co-author of five published handbooks. He is a Research Consultant and Contract Partner of the CSIR and also undertakes research, development and consultation work for private and public sector clients. A number of awards have been made to him for his contributions to the built environment and for research conference presentations. He has been in private business practice in parallel with his academic career throughout his working life, presently the Chief Executive of a group of private companies involved in the built environment, property development, construction, research, education and health care. He is passionate about education for working adults, presently collaborating with Higher Education Institutions in offering short continuing education programmes, planning multi-media further education programmes leading to certified qualifications, focus area Africa. He has numerous associates in academia and industry who cooperates with the development and presentation of educational programmes. She has written numerous conference publications and proceeding and attended various national and international conferences where these publications were presented. She is a member of RICS and SACQSP. She also owns a professional QS practice, namely Mart-Mari Els Quantity Surveyors t/a MMEQS. She is involved in various special projects and initiatives as well as community projects.