Dr. Simbarashe Fashu graduated with a BSc in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Zimbabwe in 2005. Then from 2005 to 2008, he worked at Non-Ferrous Die Casting Foundry and Clay Products Refractory Manufacturing companies as a process metallurgist. From 2008 to 2011, he was awarded the scholarship to study for an MSc degree in Materials Processing Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. Upon graduation, he worked at Harare Institute of Technology, Zimbabwe, as a senior lecturer. From 2012 to 2015, he was awarded a PhD scholarship to study materials engineering at Zhejiang University (a prestigious university ranked number 54 in the world).

He did his post-doctorate at the University of Western Cape from January 2017 to August 2018, specializing in hydrogen purification and storage. From 2019 to 2021, he joined a partnership research project between Israel and China in designing and manufacturing special steels capable of withstanding humid and hot environments. From 2021 to 2023, he was a visiting researcher at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), working on the design of materials for pumps to withstand corrosion and abrasion resistance in the phosphate industry.

He joined the University of KwaZulu-Natal in October 2023 as a senior lecturer and specializes in the recovery of critical metals from secondary resources and the design of high-performance alloys for the mining industry. Dr. Fashu has vast experience in metals processing, ceramic processing, metal purification, and membranes for hydrogen production.