He was awarded a PhD Degree from the University of Cape Town (UCT) for his thesis titled “Equality in Higher Education Partnerships: Defining the Concept in Divergent Contexts” in 2021. He obtained his qualification to be appointable as a judge (assessor jurist) in Germany after completing his first German law degree at Humboldt University. Besides, he has attained a South African LL.M degree (UCT) and LL.B. degree (UNISA). He is a non-practising attorney of the High Court of South Africa.  Cornelius accepted an appointment at the University of Venda in 2007 and has been responsible for internationalisation at this institution from 2011 until 2017 as the university’s first Director of International Relations. He moved to the University of the Free State in 2017, where he now serves as the Office for International Affairs Director. In a voluntary capacity, he serves on the African Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (AfriC) board.