Word of welcome

Message from the Director

Welcome to the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking.

Education and research in Data Science and Computational Thinking is at a pivotal moment in South Africa and Africa in general. Data is created through multiple different ways, and we have an opportunity to learn from this data to improve lives and build efficient economies. Data impacts all sectors of our economy.

Stellenbosch University recognised the importance of these fields in South Africa's and Africa's development. It is with this thought that the University launched the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking in July 2019 with the vision:

"To be a world-class institution for data science and computational thinking in and for Africa."

The University has existing strength in data science and computational thinking. Our world-class academics, researchers, PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows have been using data to gain insights that make real societal impact. These range from health and genomic data to solve real health problems, to agricultural data looking at land usage in Malawi. The University's reach and impact are found all over the continent.

The School's broad mandate includes strengthening the University's data science and computational thinking capabilities, facilitating and coordinating collaborative learning and research projects across all the different disciplines that benefit both our academic and industry partners, and building capacity in data science and computational thinking in South Africa, Africa, and across the world.

Stellenbosch University and the School is an exciting place for data science and computational thinking with multiple and diverse points of innovation in this area. I invite you to explore the world-class Data Science and Computational Thinking programmes on offer at Stellenbosch University. Additionally, we offer short courses and bootcamps. I invite you to partner with us as we build learning and research capacity benefiting societies across the country and the continent.