UP ABSA Chair of Data Science, Professor of CS: University of Pretoria, Co-Founder: Lelapa AI, Co-Founder Deep Learning Indaba & Masakhane NLP. Interest in Data Science, Natural Language Processing & AI in general
It happened. I am your Professor now 😀 I am so thankful for the giants Michael Littman and Tshilidzi Marwala チリツィ マルワラ [丸笑] on whose shoulders I stand on. A snippet from the end of my talk: I want to give my deepest thanks to my family. To my wife, who has walked this journey with me, always asking the hard questions, like who will speak for the languages we neglect, such as isiNdebele, and reminding me that this work means criss-crossing our country and continent. To our twin girls, who are still small now, but for whom we want to leave a legacy of languages and cultures to inherit with pride. To my parents, who gave me a sense of purpose, and to my siblings, who continue to inspire me. To my wider family, friends, collaborators, and to the African and global communities who have been so generous in their belief in our mission thank you. This lecture is not just about my work, but about all of us building together. May we keep widening the door so that many more can walk through. Data Science for Social Impact (DSFSI) , African Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) @ UP , Lelapa AI , Deep Learning Indaba , Masakhane , Partnership on AI , Lacuna Fund
Prof Vukosi Marivate delivered his inaugural address today, 26 August 2025, at the University of Pretoria Congratulations, Prof Vukosi Marivate BEYOND THE SYMBOLS: NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING AS AN ADAPTIVE PROBLEM Since 2015, I have worked to address the limitations of natural language processing (NLP) for African and other low-resource languages. Despite the global growth of AI, most NLP systems remain rooted in data-rich languages, excluding the linguistic and cultural contexts around the world. This disconnect is not only technical but also historical. African languages have long been underrepresented in digital infrastructure, resulting in systemic gaps in research, resources, and applications. In this lecture, I reflect on my research journey, which includes developing techniques for dealing with data scarcity, improving models to adapt rather than dominate, and working to expand available datasets through collaborative data creation. I will discuss my leadership in developing open-source tools, establishing interdisciplinary research communities, and advocating for inclusive language technologies. Looking ahead, my work will focus on designing adaptable NLP systems that can evolve with the languages and communities they serve. This includes advancing model architectures that require minimal data, creating evaluation frameworks that prioritise linguistic diversity, and incorporating ethical, community-led principles into NLP research and deployment. By treating NLP as an adaptive problem rather than just a technical one, I argue for a future where language technology is shaped not just by scale but by equity, participation, and relevance. From left to right: Prof Linda Marshall, Acting Head of the Department of Computer Science, Prof Themba Mosia, Vice-Principal: Student Life, Prof Vukosi Marivate, Department of Computer Science, Prof Wynand Steyn, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) Read more: https://lnkd.in/eKUn5sMP #computerscience #coding #languagecoding #computerscience #UniversityOfPretoria #languagetechnology #research #postgraduatestudies #community #relevanceoflanguage #leadership #innovation
Congratulations, Prof!
Congratulations Prof
Congratulations. God bless your new adventures
Amazing! Congratulations Prof. Vukosi 👏
Congrats my brother!
major congratulations, Vukosi! 🙌🏾
So proud of you Professor Vukosi Marivate!! Looking forward to your journey ahead! You are making a huge impact on #UniversityOfPretoria and its future focus on transdisciplinarry research! Congratulations!!
Congratulations Prof Vukosi Marivate . You are the giant that the next generations stands on. Well deserved
Free knowledge & Open Source Activist
10hCongrats Prof.