Charley Lewis looks aghast as I ask about his retirement. He literally jumps a fraction in his seat and stresses that retiring from his job at Wits University doesn’t mean adopting a life of slippers and a rocking chair.

Lewis has been a senior lecturer in telecoms policy and regulatory affairs at Wits University’s LINK Centre for 15 years. The retirement age is 65. He has reached that age, even though it surprises him. “I don’t feel 65. I still have a lot of passion for this sector and an interest in what’s going on and where things are going, so this is an opportunity to choose my own pace of work and contribute in a different role.”