Vukosi Marivate

Vukosi hold a PhD in Computer Science (Rutgers University) and MSc; BSc in Electrical Engineering (Wits University). I am currently based at the University of Pretoria as the ABSA Chair of Data Science. I work on developing Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence methods to extract insights from data. A large part of my work over the last few years has been in the intersection of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (due to the abundance of text data and need to extract insights). As part of my vision for the ABSA Data Science chair, I am interested in Data Science for Social Impact, using local challenges as a springboard for research. In this area, I have worked on projects in science, energy, public safety and utilities. I am the co-founder of the Deep Learning Indaba, the largest Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence workshop on the African continent, aiming to strengthen African Machine Learning. I am the co-founder of Masakhane NLP, aiming to strengthen African NLP. I am passionate about developing young talent, supervising MSc and PhD students and mentoring budding Data Scientists.