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02 July 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs
Edwin Skhosana
Edwin Skhosana is working hard to become a successful and competent actuary one day. With him is his lecturer, Dr Michael von Maltitz.

Edwin Skhosana, an Actuarial Sciences student, was described by his lecturer, Dr Michael von Maltitz of the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, as ‘very quiet’ in his Causal Inference class. 

This may sound like a compliment, but it’s not.

For Dr Von Maltitz, being quiet is definitely not encouraged – not with the new teaching methods applied in class.

“See, my class is all about engagement – getting the students to watch videos on the topics, read about the methods in question, and then come to class to grill me about things they don’t understand. This change in teaching method is extremely disconcerting for many Mathematical students, who have up until now only been taught in the ‘memorise-regurgitate’ form they had ever since the start of high school,” he explains.

Future success


“My goal is to get the students to a level of understanding where they can sit down with me or with an expert in the field and have a conversation about the Mathematical Statistics topics that I teach. This is a very difficult task in such a technical module, and few students ever feel comfortable enough to engage with me actively in class in this way,” Dr Von Maltitz points out. 

Edwin is working hard towards applying the skills and knowledge he has obtained at university to become a successful and competent actuary one day. 

An important turning point was when it dawned on him how the things discussed in class could find an important practical application in so many fields.  

“This suddenly drove a spontaneous fascination in my mind that led me to engage with Dr Von Maltitz,” the previously quiet Edwin explains.

And everything changed.

Desperate to learn

Dr Von Maltitz explains: “Edwin came to my office to ask some questions. The incredible thing was that he sat down, and a conversation about the Mathematics, the foundations, and the methods just flowed between us. I have seldom had such an insightful chat about my module with a student. It was like a cascade of information just fell into place for Edwin.”

Although he sometimes still experiences his studies as challenging and grapples to adapt to the various styles of lecturing from different lecturers, Edwin now has hope for his class in Causal Inference. 

“I think Dr Von Maltitz’s way of presenting in class is excellent. It is, however, hard to grasp if you are still anchored in the old way of cramming, because he wants you to understand and be able to apply what he teaches,” says Edwin.

“It was just wonderfully refreshing to see someone so desperate to learn something (rather than just wanting to get a degree), and then actually managing to turn around a bad semester mark into such a river of understanding,” Dr Von Maltitz concludes.

Dr Michael von Maltitz
Dr Micheal von Maltitz

News Archive

Disaster risk management centre of the UFS serves on UN specialist committee
2015-06-26

Dr Andries Jordaan
Photo: Supplied

The Director of the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC) at the University of the Free State, Dr Andries Jordaan, has been invited to serve on a UN special committee by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Dr Jordaan took part in the Expert Workshop on Climate Resilience in Geneva, Switzerland, on 22-23 June 2015.

In preparation for COP 21, which takes place later this year in Paris, the United Nations must draw up a situation report for a universal climate agreement between all the world’s nations. In order to advise the United Nations and the Secretary-General, and to prepare for the UN’s resilience initiative that will be launched during this important international gathering, a small  team of approximately 20 experts and scientists from all over the world have been chosen to review the concept of the project. This group of experts will help to revise the original concept for the project.

According to Dr Jordaan, the Sectretary-General of the UN will be launching a ‘resilience initiative’ that is aimed at promoting resilience in climate-related risks.

Jordaan says it is an honour for him to represent the UFS and DiMTEC on such a specialist committee. “For me, it is recognition of the contribution we make in Africa and the world to disaster risk and climate adaptation,” he says.

DiMTEC is proud to be at the forefront of disaster management training in Africa. The centre has close ties with institutions of the United Nations, such as UNU-EHS, UNU-Flores UNOOSA, UNSPIDER, UNEASCO, UNEP, UNCCD, UNISDR and UNDP, among others.

DiMTEC strives to inform the public about disaster risk reduction through education. The centre’s master’s and post-graduate degrees in disaster management, as well as short courses and research, are of the highest standard.

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