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10 June 2019 | Story Charlene Stanley | Photo Charl Devenish
4IR Prof Marwala
Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg and speaker at the first UFS public event on 4IR awareness (middle), with Prof Corli Witthuhn, UFS Vice-Rector: Research (left), and Tafadza Kachara, member of the UFS 4IR committee.
A computer programmed to play poker and learning by itself how to bluff; an algorithm that predicts whether two countries will ever go to war; machines that detect epilepsy with almost flawless accuracy these are some of the groundbreaking abilities brought about by technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Addressing the first UFS public event to enhance 4IR awareness, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg, briefed staff, interested parties and members of the media about recent 4IR developments and their implications.

Prof Marwala is currently a thought leader on the impact of the 4IR on higher education in South Africa as well as the Deputy Chairperson of the national commission appointed by the president to formulate 4IR strategies for South Africa.

Industrial revolution history

He recapped how, during the first industrial revolution, people started to understand how nature worked, ultimately leading to the development of the steam engine.
The second industrial revolution was marked by the development of electromagnetism which led to electrification and mass production, while the third produced computerisation and a rise in digital technology. 

The fourth industrial revolution is characterised by a fusion of technologies that blur the lines between cyber, physical and biological systems. This has led to rapid advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and 3D printing.


Artificial intelligence

Prof Marwala pointed out that, although fears were rife of machines taking over people’s jobs, the flipside of the coin was that dangerous jobs such as fire rescue operations could be carried out by machines without endangering lives.

Artificial intelligence can be employed to prevent bridge and building collapses by monitoring the condition of structures. It can also be used in credit scoring, where machines search for and analyse all the available data on a credit applicant, without having to rely only on the (sometimes fraudulent) information supplied by the credit seeker. 

He emphasised the great need to develop algorithms applicable to our continent, such as translating software that makes provision for the clicks in languages like isiXhosa, and facial recognition software that incorporates data collected in African countries. 


Is Africa ready? 

Responding to a question from an audience member, Prof Marwala indicated that Africa was certainly not ready for the 4IR when it came to the content of teaching curricula and infrastructure.

“As universities, we should not sit back and wait for change. We have the responsibility to lead our societies to have the same experiences as elsewhere in the world,” he concluded.

News Archive

UFS research could light up South African homes
2016-01-21

Reitumetse Maloa, postgraduate student and researcher at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, is using her research to provide solutions to the energy crises in South Africa.

A young researcher at the university is searching for the solution to South Africa’s energy and electricity problems from a rather unlikely source: cow dung.

“Cow dung could help us power South Africa,” explains Reitumetse Maloa, postgraduate student and researcher at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.

Reitumetse’s research is trying to understand how the bacteria works that is responsible for producing biogas.

“Biogas can be used for cooking, heating, lighting and powering generators and turbines to make electricity. The remaining liquid effluent can fertilise crops, as it is high in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.”

By using cow dung and food waste to produce biogas, we will be able to lower greenhouse gases.

Biogas is produced in a digester - an oxygen-free space in which bacteria break down or digest organic material fed into the system. This process naturally produces biogas, which is mainly a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide.

“Many countries, such as Germany and the United States, have begun generating electricity from cow dung and food waste, through a process known as biogas production. In South Africa, a number of industries, including waste-water treatment facilities and farms, have caught on to this technology, using it to generate heat and to power machines.”

Until recently the world has relied heavily on electricity derived from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil. Once these fuels have been extracted from underground reservoirs, they are treated or cleaned, transported to power plants and transformed into the electricity that will reach your house. Fossil fuels are considered a ‘dirty’ energy source which gives off greenhouse gases when burned. Those gases are the major contributing factor to climate change.

“We know very little about the interaction of the bacteria inside the biogas digester. To use biogas as a sustainable fuel source, we need to understand and describe the bacteria population and growth dynamics inside the digester to produce biogas optimally. Currently we are testing a variety of feedstock, including bran, maize and molasses, for biogas production potential, as well as optimising the conditions leading to maximum biogas production. We are also exploring the potential to use the effluent as fertiliser on local farms. The ultimate goal is to have biogas systems that will supply our university with clean energy.”


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