Preparing the workforce of tomorrow with innovative data science education

How North-West University’s strategic partnership with SAS is transforming South Africa's workforce and setting a new standard for global analytics training

In a rapidly digitizing world, the demand for advanced analytical skills has skyrocketed, leaving countries scrambling to bridge the talent gap. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, by 2025, analytical thinking, AI and big data will be among the most in-demand skills. In South Africa, North-West University (NWU) is working to bridge this gap through innovative education.

More than two decades ago and in collaboration with an industry partner, the university opened the Center for Business Mathematics and Informatics (BMI), which has been at the forefront of transforming education to meet the needs of the modern financial services industry. Now, BMI is a leading financial services risk training and research group specializing in analytical skills. The Center offers training in actuarial science, data science, financial mathematics, and quantitative risk management.

To effectively upskill its students, North-West University has long trained them in SAS. However, the university wanted to bring SAS skills to life for its students in a real-world environment. Thanks to its partnership with SAS, this vision has come to life.

Bridging theory and practice: The SAS and NWU partnership

The BMI master’s programme offers students the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge and programming skills in real-world settings. Students spend their final semester at a client location, working on a real-world business problem under the guidance of an industry expert and mentorship from a lecturer. More that half of the clients are SAS customer further enhancing the SAS and NWU partnership.

This combination of theoretical and practical experience is invaluable. Students gain vital first-hand experience in problem formulation, business etiquette and writing, and value delivery – skills that enable them to be productive much earlier in their first jobs compared to those without comparable experience.

Financial services organizations were the first beneficiaries of the SAS and NWU partnership and BMI’s new pipeline of data science professionals. “Retail banks rely on SAS. The training we give our students provides them with the skills that make them more employable in a global market,” says Professor Helgard Raubenheimer, the Director of the Center for BMI.

“We are feeding a pipeline of students into the degree from our undergraduate program as well as from other universities,” continued Raubenheimer. “Due to the program’s excellent reputation, program alumni hold positions at large multinational financial services organizations.”

Cultivating certification and global connections

In addition to providing real-world experience, the NWU program also prepares students to earn specialized certifications. All students earn SAS e-badges and are prepared for certification in 11 SAS academic specializations. After completing these, they are added to the SAS Skills and Certification directory, where employers can search for skilled workers. This deep expertise in industry-standard SAS platforms and tools, as well as open-source skills, makes program graduates sought after by employers who need capable data scientists.

Furthermore, students are also invited to network with other data professionals through the SASLab. Founded by NWU, SASLab is the data science reference for universities in Africa and the Middle East, with a rich, peer-reviewed academic research focus. It hosts one of the largest SAS big data installations for data science teaching and research in Africa and is available as a resource to other universities. The Center for BMI actively engages with and contributes to building other programs in the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and Southeast Asia to increase the global population of skilled analytics professionals.

“With SAS providing the Center full access to its software, the university has provided relevant training for highly specialized data scientists, who are in great global demand,” says Raubenheimer. “The professional networking opportunities, mentorship and career development available to Center students are crucial to the development of advanced data analytics professionals in South Africa.”