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12 May 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Pexels

A data scientist and research coordinator at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with his supervisor at the University of Pretoria (UP), is at the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 virus with accurate data and analysis.
Herkulaas Combrink of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the UFS and PhD candidate in Computer Science at the UP, said accurate data is important to prevent widespread panic and sensationalism during a global disaster such as the current pandemic. This information helps people to make informed decisions and to reduce their exposure to the threat of the virus.

Assisting decision-makers

“I, along with colleagues from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA, the provincial office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provincial clinicians, and the Free State Department of Health led by Dr David Motau, have been able to progress significantly in terms of evidence-based tools to assist provincial and national decision-makers during these turbulent times.”
“It does come at a cost, though, in that we have worked continuously since the lockdown, dedicating all our time and efforts to the department from all over to ensure that we are not part of some of the global statistics we have seen,” said Combrink. 

A paper written together with his supervisor, Dr Vukosi Marivate, has also been accepted by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)-accredited Data Science Journal.  This paper is related to a framework for sharing public data to the public in a way that is useful, usable, and understandable. 

Ongoing projects

Combrink said it is hard to name all those who are/were involved in the great work done by the Free State Department of Health, but some of them include Dr Elizabeth Reji (Head of Department, Family Medicine), Dr Collin Noel (surgeon, senior lecturer at the UFS), Dr Sammy Mokoena (community health registrar, UFS), Dr Ming-Han Motloung (public health medicine specialist, senior lecturer, UFS), Dr Perpetual Chikobvu (Director: Information Management at the Department of Health, affiliated lecturer at the UFS), as well as Alfred Deacon (lecturer at the UFS), who have worked at some point during this short space of time on one of the many projects. 

Some of the projects include the following:

• A provincial database for screening and monitoring.
• A data pipeline and assembly of hospital information flow, liaised with the NICD, Vodacom, and the different district managers to ensure that the pipeline occurs in a timely manner.
• Digitised paper-based capturing tools for rapid data capturing and processing.
• Incorporated state-of-the-art visualisation tools to action data into useful information for decision-makers in certain areas.
• Provided both provincial and national projections, stress testing different scenarios using a variety of statistical, computational, and/or machine-learning approaches to add to the already existing projections of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
• Training healthcare professionals in the field to apply these tools within their own districts.
No easy task

“These aforementioned feats were by no means easy and are not completed yet, but we are getting there. In the foreseeable future, I will be working closely with national and international researchers to deploy a tool for hospital managers in the Free State that will assist them when we move from level 5 to any level below.”

“In addition to this, I am constantly providing support to the Free State Department of Health regarding any analysis required for decision-making purposes. The teams we work in comprise highly competent individuals with a passion for solving problems from multidisciplinary perspectives,” according to Combrink.

News Archive

Offender learners get unique opportunity
2016-08-02

Description: Mandela Day Project  Tags: Mandela Day Project

Subashini Moodley, Regional Commissioner Northern Cape
and Free State.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Nelson Mandela spoke of education as the tool of liberation. Kamogelo Dithebe, Chairperson of the Postgraduate Student Council (PGSC), opened the PGSC’s Mandela Day Project with these striking words.

The PGSC at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted the Tswelopele Correctional Service Centre Career Day for their annual Mandela Day project on the Bloemfontein Campus on 27 July 2016. Grade 11 and 12 learner offenders from the Kimberley-based centre were given a tour of the campus.

Visitors empowered with knowledge

Subashini Moodley, Free State and Northern Cape Regional Commissioner, said: “It is really a privilege to be here today. It is not every day you see a Correctional Centre roaming around campus.” She thanked the postgraduate council for making the opportunity possible, as it was the first open day for the offender-learners in collaboration with the PGSC.

She told the offender-learners that they were privileged to be given the opportunity as many learners in a normal school environment often come to university not knowing what to expect or what to study. She said they should empower themselves with knowledge as they met with the different faculties.

Tour encourages and change lives

Mthulisi Zandile, a Grade 12 offender learner, was very excited to learn about the career options available after completing a university degree. “It means a lot to us as it will further our education, and bring change in our life, as this will show me the right route to pass matric with flying colours,” said Mthulisi.

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