The Durban University of Technology (DUT) in partnership with the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (InSETA) launched the InSETA Research Chair in Digitalisation Project at Coastlands Musgrave on Monday, 25 October 2021.
The project is part of a five-year partnership between DUT and InSETA after signing an agreement in 2019 to establish a Research Chair in Digitalisation and a Centre of Excellence at DUT. The Chair of this project was awarded to Professor Surendra (Colin) Thakur, Director: Short Course Unit at DUT.
Facilitating the proceedings of the launch was Mr Zwakele Ngubane, DUT’s Director: Advancement and Alumni Relations. He began by acknowledging the esteemed speakers which consisted of Mr Joel Ngubane (Chairperson of the InSETA Board), Ms Gugu Mkhize (InSETA Chief Executive Officer), Prof Sibusiso Moyo (Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement at DUT), DUT’s Prof Colin Thakur (InSETA Research Chair in Digitalisation), Dr Ridhwaan Suliman (Senior Researcher: CSIR) and Mrs Adeline Singh (Head of Research and Skills Planning Manager at InSeta).
“On behalf our DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Thandwa Zizwe Mthembu, who has been at the forefront of leading change through ENVISION2030, welcome and congratulations to InSETA, DUT and partners on the launch of the Research Chair in Digitalisation. It gives me great pleasure to give remarks on the InSETA Research Chair in Digitilisation which is one of the two SETA Chairs being hosted by DUT. This Chair is aligned to our DUT strategy, ENVISION2030 Perspectives on Stewardship, Systems and Processes, Sustainability and Society,” said Prof Moyo in her welcome address.
In a world where there has been unprecedented disruptions and uncertainties, Prof Moyo indicated that insurance has become even more vital to ensure risks are managed and all sectors of the communities and economy are protected against unforeseen events or disruptions. She added that with this backdrop, developing digital tools and algorithms that can help track, monitor and predict trends is vital. In addition to this, Prof Moyo alluded to the fact that there is a need to develop solutions for the Insurance Sector that can help increase efficiency, transparency and accountability.
“As the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement, I am in charge of a wider portfolio. However, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship are core to our role and function as a University of Technology. We expect our people to be entrepreneurial and innovative. We also expect them to contribute to Society by producing relevant innovations, for instance, new products, solutions to identified challenges, services etc. that will improve livelihoods and efficiency in a sustainable way. Our value proposition under the InSETA Chair is to contribute to research that is contextual, specific for the insurance sector and is able to take into account key role players from the ecosystem, as well as contribute to skills training,” added Prof Moyo.
She applauded the InSETA Research Chair in Digitalisation, Prof Thakur for surrounding himself with a diligent team as well as academics, which will benefit the DUT Community and ensure that only quality research and innovation is delivered as per DUT’s Stewardship perspective that talks to excellence in everything we do.
Speaking about the partnership, the InSETA CEO, Ms Gugu Mkhize said five years ago, the Department of Higher Education and Training spread the idea of Research Chairs/ Research Partnerships, where InSeta put this idea into practice in 2018. In this partnership, she indicated that they made a decision to appoint three public universities namely; DUT, the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of Cape Town (UCT), which were selected after a competitive bid.
“InSeta operates within the realm of the Insurance Sector, which is the most agile sector when it comes to innovating and deploying Fourth Industrial Technology. We understand that insurance in the not so distant future will transact, hands-offs (and will be fully online) between stakeholders and various service providers, without face-to-face meetings. For DUT we asked for a Research Chair in Digitalisation to be established. Research Chairs must be amplifiers that articulate and dismantle complex topics. They must be light beacons that attract collaborations and edification. The prolific output and the range and diversity of topics of our Research Chair in the print media, on social media and radio has affirmed our choice-decision on DUT and Prof Thakur. He is now a sought-after keynote speaker, panellist and contributor in our sector. All research projects for the year have been completed within the specific timeframe in spite of the lockdown which is a most noteworthy achievement,” noted Mkhize.
Chairperson of InSETA Board, Mr Joel Ngubane who graduated from ML Sultan Technikon now DUT, said together with Prof Thakur they are looking at intense research and outcomes in terms on knowledge production that would help the InSETA strategize and in terms of digitalisation, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), artificial intelligence of robotics and data science. He said with insurance, people get bombarded with messages and now they have gone to automated marketing, where one, for instance, can receive a call from an 010 number and think they are talking to a person when no-one is there.
“You can separate insurance with the 4IR advancement and where it is going to, we need that knowledge as well as insurance. The reason why these institutions are successful is because of research and development. They research a lot, develop a lot and understand what is happening on a daily basis, so with the establishment of the Centre of Excellence as well it will give us that kind of value add. This includes the knowledge of what we need to develop and what we need to improve on. Prof Thakur we are looking forward to drinking in your fountain of knowledge, with your research output,” said Ngubane.
Delivering the first keynote address, InSETA Research Chair, Prof Colin Thakur said given that 4IR is an exponential technology, you really need a creative person to do that, which he proudly stated that he fits the role very well.
“In terms of your organisation, where are you in terms of digital transformation. Look at units and sub-units within the organisation. Remember something if there is a problem in your system, the computer will automate the problem as the computer does not fix things but automates what you did. As South Africa gets more and more connected, we become more exposed, so the consequences of a connected society are cyber security. We really need to look at how are we going to improve cyber security and that is why we decided to take an approach to look at how TVET students react to cyber security, because they are at best place to influence their parents. If we influence the TVET students we influence the community,” said Prof Thakur.
He said people need to understand the impact of 4IR technologies in general. He revealed that South Africa is the 23rd largest consumer of electricity in the world. Furthermore, he spoke about the various innovations different organisations have introduced in line with 4IR which will result to job loss, however create new job opportunities.
The second keynote speaker was Dr Ridhwaan Suliman, Senior Researcher in the Information and Cyber Security Centre within the Defence and Security Cluster of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). His presentation was based on his recent involvement with the analysis of COVID-19 data and trends in South Africa, using this analysis and data to drive and inform decision-making policy. He shared a thought provoking presentation on the data that has been generated during the pandemic, which he said data is driving the people’s understanding of the pandemic and the decisions that they make, affecting their lives. Dr Suliman said with no doubt that the pandemic has driven the digital revolution however he cautioned that people need to know the limitations of the data and visualise the data in a way that everyone understands as not everyone is comfortable with numbers.
In closing Mrs Adeline Singh, Head of Research and Skills Planning Manager at InSETA delivered the vote of thanks, expressing her appreciation to all the speakers, esteemed guests and participants for their dedication in making the event a huge success.
Pictured: Professor Sibusiso Moyo (Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement at DUT), Mrs Adeline Singh (Head of Research and Skills Planning Manager at InSETA), DUT’s Prof Colin Thakur (InSETA Research Chair in Digitalisation), Mr Joel Ngubane (Chairperson of the InSETA Board), Ms Gugu Mkhize (InSETA Chief Executive Officer), Mr Thabo Makhe (InSETA CFO) and Dr Ridhwaan Suliman (Senior Researcher:CSIR) at the launch.
Simangele Zuma
