Thandiwe Majama
🌻 Collaborative Human
Legal Researcher
Law Vlogger
LL.M  |  M.Sc  |  LL.B

Thandiwe Majama — Technology Law Professional | Digital Regulation | AI Governance | Data Protection | Botswana

Hi!
I'm Thandiwe

I explore how digital regulations, like the EU's AI Act/ GDPR and Botswana's data privacy laws, shape technology, business, and people's rights.

Based in Botswana, trained across Europe.

What I Work On

Data Privacy Platform Regulation AI Policy Legal Tech Youth Advocacy

Coming Soon!

Law can feel distant, complicated, and written for someone else, but it shapes everything from the apps you use to the rights you have.

I'm launching a vlog where I break down tech policy and law in plain language, share what it looks like to navigate a non-traditional legal career, and explore global and local digital regulations. No jargon. Just honest conversations about law, life and the technology around us.

Stay tuned.

Yes! Notify Me

Resume

Download CV

Education

2024 – 2025
LL.M. Law in a Digital Economy
Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Lisbon, Portugal
Courses: AI Regulation (AI Act), Data Protection (GDPR), Platform Regulation (DSA, DMA), Global Law & Digital Technologies, Legal Research, Digital Copyright, Corporate Governance (EU-US), Cybersecurity Law, IP & Competition, Big Data & the Law, Generative AI for Lawyers, Legal Automation and Engineering

Skills Seminars: Negotiation, Strategic Decision Making, Prompt Engineering, Legal Automation, Data Science for Law
2021 – 2023
MSc. Transition, Innovation and Sustainability Environments
University College Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
Thesis: Data privacy in Botswana: millennials' protection strategies against web tracking

Erasmus Mobility: Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (Portugal), Poznań University of Economics and Business (Poland), Danube University Krems (Austria)

Courses: Digital Policy, Digital Media and Communication, Transdisciplinary Research, Systems Science
Aug – Sep 2023
Data Economy Law Summer School
Danube University Krems
Austria
Data Privacy, Cybersecurity, Transnational Business Law and IP
Data Economy Law Summer SchoolData Economy Law Summer School
2009 – 2015
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B)
University of Botswana
Gaborone, Botswana
Contract Law, Administrative Law, Civil Procedure and Practice, Company Law, Employment Law, Private International Law, Tax Law, Law of Delict

Legal Experience (EU Context)

May 2025
Moot Court Oralist
Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition
Lithuania & France
Represented Universidade Católica Portuguesa as part of the oral pleading team. Drafted structured legal pleadings and developed written and oral arguments under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Helga Pedersen Moot CourtEuropean Court of Human Rights StrasbourgEuropean Court Strasbourg
April 2025
Oralist
Comparative Law in Action — IE University
Spain
Conducted comparative legal analysis on intellectual property and AI in music. Drafted an advisory brief addressing regulatory gaps and presented practical recommendations.
CLIA Competition TeamCLIA Competition Catolica
March 2025
Legal Innovation Fellow
Law Without Walls — Univ. of Miami & Buckingham University
UK
Collaborated with legal and compliance experts from Lloyd's Banking Group. Applied design thinking to develop and pitch a digital legal solution addressing internal challenges.
Law Without WallsLaw Without Walls Lloyd's Banking Group

Research Experience

Oct 2022 – May 2023
Research Analyst
Transdisciplinary Research Field Project — Danube University Krems
Langau, Austria
Co-led a transdisciplinary project with four colleagues using Formative Scenario Analysis to assess Langau's vulnerability over the next 20 years. Conducted stakeholder mapping and facilitated a workshop with 14+ actors from academia, community, and government. Identified economic vulnerabilities and prioritised 120+ threat scenarios, proposing 7 actionable strategies to boost local economic resilience.
Transdisciplinary Research ProjectTransdisciplinary Research
Mar – Aug 2023
Thesis Researcher
Master's Thesis — University College Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
Applied qualitative methods to explore how Botswanan millennials navigate online privacy and protect personal data from web tracking. Reviewed Botswana's data protection framework to contextualise the study. Conducted inductive thematic analysis revealing greater concern for financial and identity fraud than third-party tracking.
MSc Graduation AustriaMSc Graduation

Client Engagement & Operational Experience

Apr – Aug 2024
Programme Assistant
EUSA – Academic Internship Experts
Dublin, Ireland
Primary contact for 112 students from U.S. partner universities. Developed the student ethical compliance framework and supported contract management including vendor sourcing and service agreements.
EUSAEUSA Field
2019 – 2021
Product Manager
Viamo
Botswana
Managed strategic partnership with Orange Botswana for the 124-service national hotline, available to over 1 million customers. Coordinated service delivery and produced performance reports to inform improvements.

Volunteer Experience

2024 – 2026
Co-Speaker, Internal Affairs Taskforce
African Students & Alumni Forum
European Commission funded
Coordinated and oversaw three working groups drafting the Board Code of Conduct, the General Members' Code of Conduct, and amendments to the ASAF statutes. Directly contributed to drafting the Board Code of Conduct and statute amendments. Co-developed the member feedback survey on the first draft of the amendments and helped finalise the proposed version. Presented progress at the ASAF Annual General Forum.
2022 – 2024
Board Member
African Students & Alumni Forum
European Commission funded
Spearheaded membership engagement strategies for a network of 2,000+ members across Africa and the diaspora. Co-developed organisational governance frameworks and coordinated annual activity plans.
Jul – Aug 2022
Summer Intern — Content Creation & Editing
DuGut Foundation
Matosinhos, Portugal
Drafted scripts, produced and edited videos about sustainable practices for the DuGut social enterprise, whose goal is to encourage young people to take sustainable action through their web app.

View on Instagram ↗    View on TikTok ↗
Oct – Nov 2020
Hackathon Organiser
UNLEASH
Remote (India)
Co-hosted a hackathon for 44 young people in India addressing community resilience against cyclones in Odisha. Solicited expert mentors and matched participant teams for tailored, high-quality feedback.
UNLEASH Hackathon 2020
2017 – 2019
Advocacy Director & Volunteer
Youth Alliance for Leadership & Development in Africa
Botswana
Led the Voice Africa's Future campaign, coordinating youth dialogues with 150+ participants. Co-developed a partnership proposal securing FNB sponsorship for a week-long workshop for 93 youth. Coordinated the first translation of the UN SDGs into Setswana.
YALDA SDGs in SetswanaYALDA Start Here Start NowYALDA Citizens Report Dukwi

Fellowships & Selective Programmes

2019
UNLEASH Fellow
UNLEASH
Shenzhen, China
Selected for a fully sponsored, week-long global design thinking programme bringing together young innovators to develop solutions for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UNLEASH ShenzhenUNLEASH Shenzhen Team
June 2017
ChangemakerXchange Fellow
Ashoka
Magaliesburg, South Africa
Selected alongside 21 other young people from Sub-Saharan Africa to participate in the Ashoka ChangemakerXchange programme held in South Africa. ChangemakerXchange is an Ashoka initiative that brings together young changemakers to connect, learn from each other and collaborate over five days. The programme led to two collaborative projects, Restore Earth Challenge and SDG Couture, both partially funded by Ashoka and Robert Bosch Stiftung.

View my ChangemakerXchange profile ↗
ChangemakerXchangeChangemakerX
Mar 2017 – Mar 2018
Entrepreneurship for Good Fellow
The Do School
Sinal do Vale, Duque de Caxias, Brazil
Selected to take part in the Do School's entrepreneurship programme, aimed at equipping individuals to become purposeful doers who drive new products and powerful cultural shifts. As a fellow of the Entrepreneurship for Good programme, I spent 2 months in Brazil developing my venture T-Recs, a sustainable fashion brand aimed at inspiring an eco-conscious culture through apparel made from sustainable and recycled materials. I won the Do School Seeds Award, a seed funding prize based on my elevator pitch and pitch deck.
Do School Entrepreneurship for Good
2019 – 2020
Youth Entrepreneurship Programme
Okavango Diamond Company
Botswana
Selected to participate in a youth entrepreneurship development programme supported by Okavango Diamond Company.

Skills

Policy & Legislative Analysis
Legal Research
Legal Drafting
Regulatory Advisory
Contract Negotiation
Stakeholder Management
Cross-cultural Collaboration
Content Writing
AI Prompt Engineering
Google Workspace
Canva & Final Cut Pro
Notion & Slack

Languages

EnglishNative / C2
SetswanaNative
NdebeleProficient

Achievements

  • Selected as one of two students sponsored to represent Universidade Católica Portuguesa at Law Without Walls
  • Awarded Erasmus Mundus Scholarship for a fully funded two-year Master's programme
  • Awarded partial funding by Ashoka & Robert Bosch Stiftung for Restore Earth and SDG Couture projects
  • Selected by the Do School for their fully-funded Entrepreneurship for Good programme held in Brazil for 2 months
  • Winner of sustainability pitch competition (€2,000) by Do School & Westerwelle Foundation

A selection of projects I've contributed to spanning legal advocacy, governance, community building, and innovation.

Education Access & Youth Advocacy
Secure Your Erasmus+ Scholarship
Project Lead — ASAF x YALDA, Botswana, 2026

Designed and led an initiative to close the information gap for Batswana applicants to the Erasmus Mundus Joint Degree programme. After repeatedly being approached individually for guidance, I built a structured webinar and in-person workshop series with ASAF and YALDA to make the application process accessible, covering eligibility, programme selection, motivation letters, and CVs, with insights shared directly by Batswana alumni.

69
Peak concurrent webinar attendees
93%
Could correctly define Erasmus Mundus after the webinar, up from 67%
22
Attended the in-person workshop with positive feedback

A pre/post poll showed a clear knowledge shift, while a barriers poll revealed that low CV confidence, programme selection, and motivation letter writing were the biggest obstacles for aspiring applicants. This directly shaped the in-person workshop focus which included structured worksheets and a reflection guide that participants completed in preparation beforehand.

Applying for Erasmus Mundus this year? The workshop is now a workbook. The same process, the same exercises, self-paced: find your programme, write your motivation letter, and build your Europass CV. There is a free reflection guide there too, if you would rather start smaller.

Innovation & Design Thinking
MATI — UNLEASH SDG12 Project
UNLEASH Fellow — Shenzhen, China, 2019

As an UNLEASH fellow focused on SDG12, I spent a week in Shenzhen collaborating with an international team using design thinking to develop a solution for farmers in Bangladesh to increase soil fertility. Our team created MATI, a free IVR content platform that works on a regular cellphone, connecting farmers to regional mentors. MATI also serves as a training platform where lessons are uploaded in IVR format and farmers are incentivised through weekly airtime rewards.

View MATI presentation ↗
Community Resilience
UNLEASH Hackathon 2020 — Cyclone Resilience in Odisha
Co-organiser — Remote (India), Oct–Nov 2020

As an UNLEASH alumna, I collaborated with seven other alumni to co-host a localised online hackathon for 44 young people in India, focused on developing ideas to make communities in Odisha more resilient against cyclones. Responsibilities included reviewing and shortlisting applications, co-hosting discussions, soliciting media partners, and matching teams with expert mentors.

Environmental Advocacy
Restore Earth Challenge 2019
Founder, T-Recs — Gaborone, Botswana, Feb–Mar 2019

Hosted a design thinking workshop for youth in collaboration with Environmental Care Initiative Malawi, inviting young people to submit ideas on reducing pollution and single-use plastic in their communities. The workshop was held in Gaborone, with funding by Ashoka and Robert Bosch Stiftung.

View on Facebook ↗
Youth Empowerment
DO Day 2019
Coordinator — University of Botswana, October 2019

Collaborated with the Young Women's Leadership Club at the University of Botswana to run a panel discussion on Women in Politics and the role of youth, as part of the global DO DAY initiative by the Do School Organisation.

Youth Empowerment
DO Day 2018
Coordinator — Gaborone, October 2018

Coordinated and facilitated two co-creation workshops as part of DO DAY 2018, one with students aged 13–15 at a local school and another at the University of Botswana campus, designed to spark creative problem-solving and social entrepreneurship thinking among young participants.

Social Entrepreneurship
Up Network — Do School Entrepreneurship for Good
Fellow — Brazil, 2017

As a fellow of the Do School's Entrepreneurship for Good programme, I spent 10 weeks in Brazil with 16 other fellows prototyping and writing a concept manual for a multi-sectoral initiative called Up Network, aimed at increasing youth employment by leveraging the power of networks.

View on Instagram ↗    View on YouTube ↗    View on Facebook ↗

This is where I put thoughts into words about digital regulation, and ask the questions nobody's asking loudly enough.

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Whether you're interested in working together, attending one of my events, or just want to connect — I'd love to hear from you.

Last updated: July 2026

Who I Am

This website is operated by Thandiwe Majama, a technology law professional based in Botswana. You can contact me at hello@withthandi.com.

What Data I Collect

Contact form: When you submit the contact form on this site, I collect your name, email address, subject, and message. This information is used solely to respond to your enquiry.

Reflection guide sign-up: On the Erasmus Mundus site (erasmus.withthandi.com), if you enter your email address to receive the free Reflection Guide, I store that address to send you the guide and occasional updates about the workbook. It is stored for 12 months and never shared. You can ask to be removed at any time by emailing hello@withthandi.com.

Workbook purchases: The Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Workbook is sold through Gumroad. Payments and buyer details are handled entirely by Gumroad under their own privacy policy. I never see or store your card details. I do receive the email address associated with your purchase, so I can deliver the workbook and provide support.

Analytics: This site uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous data about visitor behaviour, including pages visited, time spent on the site, and approximate location. This data does not identify you personally. Analytics only runs if you accept it through the cookie banner shown on your first visit. If you decline, no analytics cookies are set. You can change your choice at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser, which will make the banner appear again. For additional protection — for example, if you've accepted by mistake — you can also install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Legal Basis for Processing

Where applicable under the GDPR and Botswana's Data Protection Act – Act No. 18 of 2024, I process your personal data on the following bases:

Consent: For the reflection guide sign-up, you actively choose to give me your email address.

Legitimate interests: For contact form submissions, to respond to your enquiry.

Analytics: Google Analytics is used under legitimate interests to improve this website.

How Long I Keep Your Data

Contact form submissions are retained only as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry. Reflection guide sign-up addresses are stored for 12 months, or deleted sooner upon your request.

Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, withdraw consent, or object to processing. To exercise any of these rights, please contact me at hello@withthandi.com and I will respond within 30 days.

Third Parties

This site is hosted on Netlify. Contact form submissions are processed through Netlify Forms. Analytics are handled by Google Analytics. I do not sell or share your personal data with any other third parties.

Changes to This Policy

I may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date at the top.