Congratulations to Our Autumn 2026 Graduates!

It is a moment of immense joy and pride as we celebrate the incredible achievements of our Autumn 2026 cohort. Each of these graduates has demonstrated remarkable dedication to pushing the boundaries of data science for social impact. May 2026 was a very special month for the DSFSI lab — two new PhDs, a Masters, two Honours, and two Bachelors degrees, all in one season. We are honoured to witness the culmination of your hard work and excited for the bright futures that lie ahead.

PhD Graduates

Michelle Kotze, PhD CS, University of Pretoria

Thesis: “Quality evaluation strategies for synthetic code-switched data in support of language learning applications”

Supervised by Prof Vukosi Marivate, Dr Kayode Olaleye

Michelle’s doctoral work tackles one of the trickiest challenges in African NLP: how do you know if synthetic code-switched data is actually good? Her research into quality evaluation strategies lays important groundwork for building language technologies that truly reflect the way South Africans communicate. We celebrate this achievement and the expertise she has brought — and continues to bring — to the lab.

Temitope Kekere, PhD IT, University of Pretoria

Thesis: “Machine Learning for Social Event Analysis: Public Perceptions During COVID-19 and Collective Violence in South Africa”

Supervised by Prof Marié Hattingh and Prof Vukosi Marivate

From a child in Nigeria captivated by abacuses, pipe organs, and manually-struck bells — tools that extend human capability — to a researcher applying AI to some of South Africa’s most pressing social moments: Temitope’s journey is one of deep curiosity and extraordinary resilience. His transdisciplinary research, applying machine learning to public sentiment during COVID-19 and the July 2021 unrest, shows how data science can illuminate the social forces that shape our lives. It is a fitting destination for a journey that was never going to follow a straight line.

Masters Graduates

Abiola Yetunde Akinbowale, Masters in Big Data Science (MITC), University of Pretoria

Thesis: “Harmonizing Multilingual News Categories: A Unified Approach to African Language News Classification”

Supervised by Prof Vukosi Marivate and Dr Idris Abdulmumin

Abiola’s Masters journey — driven by resilience and a deep belief from her supervisors in her potential — has produced research that directly advances the accessibility of African language news. She has already taken the next step, embarking on a PhD, and the lab couldn’t be more excited to see where her growing expertise in NLP and machine learning takes her.

Honours Graduates

Unarine Leo Netshifhefhe, BSc Honours CS (with distinction), University of Pretoria

Supervised by Prof Vukosi Marivate and Dr Kayode Olaleye

Honours was never in Unarine’s original plan — it took a conversation with Prof on a DSFSI hike to change that. What followed was a year of genuine growth: contributing to sign language research, library projects, and discovering what it means to do research. Graduating with distinction is a remarkable achievement, but perhaps more impressive is how fully he threw himself into the work. A sincere thank you from Unarine to the DSFSI team, especially Happy, Sitwala, Thapelo, Prof Vukosi, and Dr Kayode — and a sincere congratulations from all of us to him.

Tshepiso Mabina, BSc Honours CS, University of Pretoria

Supervised by Ms Seani Rananga and Mr Mahlatse Mbooi

Tshepiso’s journey through Honours was not without doubt — but doubt, met with the right support, can produce exceptional work. The patience and belief of her supervisor and co-supervisor made all the difference. She has already signalled her intention to return for a Masters, and we absolutely look forward to it.

Bachelors Graduates

Zainab Abdulrasaq, BSc CS, University of Pretoria

Supervised by Dr Abiodun Modupe, Dr Idris Abdulmumin, and Dr Olaperi Okuboyejo

Zainab’s academic journey was, by her own description, turbulent — marked by uncertainty about her path and her identity. What changed was community: the DSFSI lab became a place where she found mentors, peers, and the inspiration to keep going. She now continues to Honours and beyond, with the goal of contributing meaningfully to the future of African data and AI. We are so glad the community found her.

Karabo Serothoane, BSc CS, University of Pretoria

Congratulations to Karabo on completing her Bachelor’s degree! We are thrilled that she is joining the DSFSI lab as a new Honours student — welcome to the next chapter.

Affiliate Members

Nombuyiselo Caroline Zondi, PhD in Education (African Languages), University of Pretoria

Thesis: “Factors influencing Grade 1 Sepedi-Speaking learners’ reading outcomes in Limpopo”

Nombuyiselo’s journey is a powerful example of what happens when education and technology meet with purpose. What began as a study rooted in literacy and language instruction gradually evolved into an interdisciplinary exploration, spanning collaborations with data scientists, computational linguists and AI researchers — all united by the goal of helping South African children learn to read. Her work is a reminder that solving the reading crisis requires crossing disciplinary borders, and she has done so with remarkable clarity and conviction.

Closing

The DSFSI lab is deeply proud of everything this cohort has accomplished. You have each brought something unique to our community, and you leave — or continue — carrying the values of rigorous, socially-minded research. Wherever your paths lead, know that you will always be part of this lab’s story. Congratulations, Class of Autumn 2026!

Stay connected with our work:

• DSFSI: https://linktr.ee/dsfsi
• AfriDSAI: https://linktr.ee/afridsai