Prof Ivan Turok holds the Research Chair in City-Region Economies in the Department of Economics and Finance and the Centre for Development Support at the UFS. He has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications and 11 books/monographs, and is one of the most highly cited social scientists in SA. He is ranked in the top 1% of global scientists by Stanford University and Clarivate Web of Science, and ranked 42 out of 9701 top global scientists within the specific field of urban and regional planning. He holds an NRF B1-rating and is the former Editor-in-Chief of the top international journal, Regional Studies.   He is also a Distinguished Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council and was the Chairman of the Durban City Planning Commission. He was formerly Professor of Urban Economic Development, and Director of Research: Department of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow. Prof Turok was also a Mellon Fellow at the University of Cape Town and Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Strathclyde. He is an occasional adviser to the United Nations, OECD, African Development Bank, UNECA, and several national governments. His recent books include Transitions in Regional Economic Development (2018, Routledge), Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa (2019, Springer), and Restoring the Core: Central City Decline and Transformation in the South (2020, Elsevier). He was a finalist for the NSTF Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

He has a PhD in Economics from the University of Reading, UK.