Firdouza Waggie is Associate Professor and Deputy Dean: Clinical and Community Engagement and Director of the Interprofessional Education Unit (IPEU) in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa. Her field of expertise and research areas are interprofessional education and collaborative practice, community engagement and service learning, public and school health. She is an advocate for collaborative practice and community engagement in higher education and in the health and social services. She provides leadership, manages and contribute towards the interprofessional education and collaborative practice niche at UWC through facilitating the development of interprofessional curricula and programmes, capacity building, initiating and conducting collaborative research and networking and forging collaborative partnerships with national and international stakeholders. She has contributed to building a regional interprofessional education network to share best practices, challenges and opportunities through the Africa Interprofessional Education Network (AfrIPEN) of which she is a founder member and vice-chairperson. She also serves on the executive committee of the South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum (SAHECEF), is a board member of the UKWANDA Centre for Rural Health and serves on the advisory board of AfroPHC. These organizations aim to foster equitable community-oriented health services and education, research, and policy. She aims to build personal and leadership capacity needed for sustainability and success in higher education. Her post graduate supervision and research record reflects several national and international publications and conference presentations which has a strong focus in Interprofessional education and collaborative practice.