Vyf baanbrekersjare van kunsmatige intelligensie, genoom-observasie en masjienleer, sowel as 'n Italiaanse ridderskap en erkenning – nie een keer nie, maar twee keer – deur  TIME Magazine​

Volledige Afrikaans volg:

Five pioneering years of artificial intelligence, genome surveillance and machine learning, as well as an Italian knighthood and recognition not once, but twice, by TIME Magazine - Stellenbosch University's School for Data Science and Computational Thinking​ celebrated its fifth birthday this week by reflecting on its standout achievements.

“It's been an excellent five years with many successes," said Prof Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at SU, at the School's birthday celebration at Die Stal. “This shows what can be achieved when we focus on putting resources together and attracting top talent. We hope the next five years will be even more successful."

Director of the School, Prof Kanshu Rajaratnam, said it had, notwithstanding the challenges of the pandemic in 2020, firmly established itself as a world-class institution with local relevance and global impact. He attributed its many successes to its interdisciplinary, cross-faculty focus, as well as its collaborations with local and international institutions. Private sector partnerships have also played a significant role in amplifying the work of the School.

“This milestone is not just a testament to the hard work and dedication of our rectorate, faculty, staff, and students, but also a celebration of the impact the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking has made in advancing knowledge and transforming lives, said Prof Wim De Villiers, Rector and Vice Chancellor of Stellenbosch University.

“We celebrate and reflect on a journey marked by innovation, collaboration, and academic excellence.  We look forward to continuing our pursuit of cutting-edge research and fostering a community of critical thinkers and problem-solvers who will shape the future. Here's to many more years of growth and success."

Rajaratnam recalled how he joined the School just before lockdown began in 2020. “I thought, how do I advance a new school when I can't even leave the house?" For the first year, he had to work on his own at nurturing relationships and collaborations to develop the School into the formidable global player it is today.

“The School has grown from strength to strength. Its accolades, strength and diversity of partnerships, and social contribution speak to its achievements. We have world-class researchers associated with the School. The partnerships that have recently been renewed are evidence of value creation for all stakeholders. We will build on our strength from the past five years and bring in further world-class activities to the University over the next five years.

Making a name for itself

The school is proud to be associated with some of SU's leading academics and international heavyweights in science and innovation. World-renowned bioinformatician Prof Tulio de Oliveira, who led a groundbreaking multidisciplinary team of researchers and scientists in the discovery of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, is a professor of Bioinformatics at the School.

This year, de Oliveira was recognised by TIME Magazine in its inaugural 2024 TIME100 Health list, a new annual compilation that celebrates 100 individuals who have had the most impact on global health. Two years ago, he was mentioned in the 2022 TIME100 list of the world's most influential people.

The School's Prof Francesco Petruccione has been awarded the Order of the Star of Italy; an Italian order of chivalry akin to a British knighthood. He is Professor of Quantum Computing and Director of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS).

Prof Thulani Makhalanyane, a world-renowned microbiome researcher with a joint position in the Department of Microbiology and the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, was awarded the prestigious Silver Medal of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB) for his outstanding contribution to the field.

Highlights

The School will benefit from three of 16 new collaborative PhD progammes announced last week by the executive committee of the African Research Universities Alliance. SU will be one of the lead universities in the following Collaborative PhD Programmes:  the Grace Alele-Williams Pan-African Doctoral School in Computational Thinking and AI (for 100 students), Functional Genomics of Disease (for 50 students) and Renewable and Sustainable Energy (also for 50 students). The target is 70% women enrolment and graduates who will be younger than 35 when they complete their studies. ARUA expects that participating universities will graduate 1 000 PhD holders annually in several cohorts over a ten-year period.

Other highlights include the inaugural Digital Health Africa  (DHA 2024) conference held recently at SU's Biomedical Research Institute (BMRI) earlier this year. The two-day conference, co-organised by the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking and the Division of Clinical Pharmacology in SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, with the Fundisa African Academy of Medicines Development and Pharmacometrics Africa, brought together leading global experts to engage in discussions, workshops and case studies on transformation and innovation in the healthcare industry.

Prof Willem Fourie leads the Policy Innovation Lab, established through partnership with the Presidency, the German government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is a first in Africa and it explores how data science and artificial intelligence tools can be deployed to address problems within the policymaking environment. 

“The School will use the base and collaborations over the last five years to build the next five years. We want to bring alignment and additionality to the faculties' efforts. Together with the Faculties at SU and the School for Climate Studies, we will make data science and computational thinking a high-rise of the University," concluded Rajaratnam.

​​Caption: Prof Thulani Makhalanyane,  Prof Willem Fourie, Dr Ronel Retief, Prof Stan du Plessis, Karen Bruns, John Mukomberenwa of Standard Bank, Prof Deresh Ramjugernath, Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Prof Kanshu Rajaratnam, Prof Hester Klopper, Prof Francesco Petruccione, Prof Lenine Liebenberg and Alex Shabala of Capitec mark the milestone birthday of the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking (Credit: Stefan Els)