Tech - 4IR Skills

The Skills Imperative When Powering Up The 4th Industrial Revolution

By Dr Mmaki Jantjies

If towards the end of the global pandemic you’d told data science researchers that, just two years later, large language models would be dominating dinner table discussions, they’d have likely greeted your prediction with a healthy dose of scepticism. Yet it’s undoubtedly the case that the past two years have been dominated by conversations about Artificial Intelligence and its impact on various countries across the world.

Globally and in South Africa, policy discussions have not only engaged with the importance of responsible AI and data protection training for organisations seeking to use this technology but the importance of having skills which contribute towards the growth of the digital revolution in order for South Africa to remain competitive.

Primarily, AI mainly came to prominence thanks to breakthroughs in large language models (LLMs) accelerated by the increased availability of training data. Parallel to these developments was the availability of enhanced computing processing power through improved hardware, led by investment in the technology providers making advancements in deep learning models. Considering the increased use of such technologies, how is South Africa prepared to leverage this digital “revolution” across sectors of the national economy?

Every year South Africa’s telecommunications and ICT sector hosts SATNAC, the Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference which is the longest standing conference anchored on a public partnership. However, it was actually 26 years ago when the National Research Foundation through the Thrip programme, telecom organisations in the private sector and ICT providers, partnered with government and universities in South Africa to create a sustainable programme aimed at ensuring a pipeline of sustained technology skills.

The partnership created a host of research centres of excellence that would be hosted by higher education institutions across the country. While coordinated by Telkom, the centres were open for investment from telecommunications and ICT providers across the country and the world.

Since then, the Telkom Centers of Research Excellence (COE) have bridged the gap between South African R&D Innovation led by researchers who principally train Masters and PhD students in areas such as computer science and engineering. Research delivered by the COE is then presented at the annual SATNAC conference amongst other plenary sessions.

This year the SATNAC 2024 theme was Artificial Intelligence with the conference staging a rich debate on the potential of AI to revolutionise various sectors in South Africa. The conference considered applications across multiple sectors while also acknowledging the challenges and taking account of ethical considerations, particularly those related to the use of data and the potential bias of algorithms. The speakers emphasised the need for collaboration, responsible development and a human-centric approach necessary to ensure that AI benefits all of society.

In 2023, Telkom conducted an impact study to assess the efficacy of South Africa’s national programme to develop skills in areas such as telecommunications and related digital technologies. Regionally, the programme has also supported over 3 200 postgraduate researchers in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM), particularly engineering and computer science, in the context of which academics and industry have committed themselves to a concerted effort to strengthen these skills. All of these stakeholders play a vital role in ensuring innovation and competitiveness in South Africa and any country.

For the country to produce and continue to sustain a relevant digital skills pipeline to power up the digital revolution, such partnerships are important in ensuring our competitiveness and ability to remain competitive and leverage these technologies to address South African national imperatives.

According to the Global Innovation Index (GII) for 2023, South Africa ranks 59th out of 132 economies. The report reflects various pillars required to enable innovation within a country where skills and investment in R&D are a crucial pillar. The 2023 GII report thus highlighted how the country is lagging behind in areas such as research and development investment (% GDP) and in identifying researchers (per million population). These deficiencies point to the need for greater national and regional investment in both R&D and human capital, though in terms of regional development South Africa fairs pretty well coming in 2nd place behind Mauritius.

As areas such as AI continue to advance, shaping our national contribution to this sector will unquestionably require a collective investment in the skills required to power up the digital revolution. At the same time, the most important step for South Africa will be to leverage these technologies while addressing some of our most critical national challenges.

*Dr Mmaki Jantjies is the Chairperson of the SATNAC and an innovative leader who is passionate about harnessing the power of technology and R&D to drive change. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in Information Systems.

Sources: A Reflection on the Sustainable Impact of Telkom’s Centre of Excellence Programme Report | SATNAC | Global Innovation Index 2023