SAAIR- Southern African Association for Institutional Research

NRF Data Insights | In Volume 2: 2025, we continue to explore and analyse research with impact produced with the NRF's support. Building on the insights from a previous edition, this one delves deeper into the trends and achievements that are shaping the future of research in South Africa. View the full publication here: https://lnkd.in/dB8HN2XN

Data that informs. Leadership that inspires. Our SAAIR President, Elizabeth Rakgotho-Booi (Pr.Nat.Sci, MSc, PhD Candidate), continues to elevate data culture and responsible data practices across the sector. We salute you, Madam President! 🚀📈 #SAAIR #EXCO2025 #DataQuality #DataLiteracy #DataFluency #DataGovernance

OpenAI just dropped prompt packs for executives and other roles. Most people still ask ChatGPT the same way they Google. → Write an email. → Summarize this. → Give me 5 ideas. That’s not strategy-that’s surface-level prompting. OpenAI just made it easier to go deeper. They released 250+ prompt examples built for real-world roles: ↳ Executives ↳ Managers ↳ Product ↳ HR ↳ Finance ↳ Marketing ↳ Sales ↳ IT ↳ Engineering ↳ Customer Success Each prompt is tailored for how you actually work. Here’s why it matters: → You’ll stop wasting time guessing how to phrase your asks. → You’ll learn how AI can help you think, plan, and decide -not just type faster. → You’ll finally see what “AI in your workflow” looks like. Simple example for execs: “Act as a strategy consultant. Create a 90-day plan to improve operational efficiency using existing data and AI insights". That’s not automation. That’s acceleration. Start with one prompt today, improve it with context from your business, and you’ll see how fast the gap closes between idea and action. Prompts here: https://lnkd.in/eCKbk_Kc What’s one area in your work where AI could save you hours a week? ♻️ Repost to help someone get this for work. ➕ Follow Nelson Uzenabor for more.

𝟮,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 If you are interested in shaping the future of SAAIR, we encourage you to get involved and be part of this transformative journey by joining a SAAIR Task Team: https://lnkd.in/dbm8SaZu As we continue to grow our SAAIR community, recently reaching 2,000 LinkedIn Followers, it becomes ever clearer that this space is more than a network. It is a living reflection of Africa’s voice in higher education, research, and institutional advancement. Our continent is rich with ideas, resilience, and innovation. Yet for too long, the global narrative has spoken about Africa, rather than with Africa. Every connection here - every post, discussion, and shared insight - helps to change that. Together, we are shaping a more balanced story: one where African data, leadership, and lived experience guide not only local transformation, but global understanding. The recent 32nd SAAIR Conference hosted by University of Venda reminded us that collaboration is our greatest strength. When researchers, planners, analysts, and leaders from across Africa come together, we create something that transcends borders - a shared commitment to excellence that is grounded in empathy, integrity, and authenticity. This community matters because the African voice matters. It carries the rhythm of renewal, the wisdom of adaptation, and the courage to define progress on our own terms. Each member adds depth to our collective narrative - proving that knowledge is not confined to any one geography, but grows stronger through shared purpose. So, to the 2,000 and counting - thank you very much. You remind us that unity is not uniformity; it is the harmony of many voices contributing to one evolving song. Together, we continue to show that Africa does not need permission to lead - only platforms to be heard. #SAAIR2025 #EXCO2025 #Community #Excellence #Leadership #Africa #AfricanExcellence #VoiceOfAfrica #UbuntuInAction #SAAIRCommunity #ShapingAfricasFuture #TogetherWeRiseAfrica Elizabeth Rakgotho-Booi (Pr.Nat.Sci, MSc, PhD Candidate)|Ashton Maherry|Dr. Munienge Mbodila|Benjamin Ntshabele|Carin Strydom|Patience M.|Valentine Maroga|innocent mamvura|Hossein Masoumi Karakani, Ph.D. Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Department of Basic Education Department of Science, Technology and Innovation Department of International Relations and Cooperation Council on Higher Education Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) South African Qualifications Authority SARUA - Southern African Regional Universities Association Association of African Universities Association for Institutional Research (AIR)

Quantitative research systematically uses numerical data and statistical methods to measure, test, and analyze relationships between variables. Here are 7 FREE* Quantitative Research Courses that can audit to up your skills today⬇️: Quantitative courses: 1. Harvard University – Quantitative Methods for Biology (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gtF9idYs 2. University of Amsterdam – Quantitative Methods (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gA4PXZkS 3. Harvard – Statistics and R (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gjWvcgDs 4. Harvard – R Basics (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gSdUgci2 5. National University of Singapore (NUS) – Quantitative (and Qualitative) Research for Beginners (FREE audit) https://lnkd.in/g7cgxw5Z 6. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton / UPenn) – Fundamentals of Quantitative Modeling  https://lnkd.in/gESw2c5k 7. Harvard – Data Wrangling (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/g2mc6gQh 8. Harvard – Linear Regression (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gE8j9H8N 9. Harvard – Inference and Modeling (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gVfTq5AJ 10. Harvard – Probability (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gbjgBeCY 11. University of California, Davis (UC Davis) – Quantitative Research (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/g7rNinXQ 12. Johns Hopkins University – Advanced Statistics for Data Science Specialization (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/g_n-3Wn5 13. Johns Hopkins – Biostatistics in Public Health Specialization (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/g2bGxxet 14. Rice University – Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel (FREE audit)  https://lnkd.in/gBVHWzvR ______ Found this useful? 1. Stay tuned on my newsletter with 48k+ readers that teaches you a practical research skill regularly: asadnaveed.substack.com 2. Follow Asad Naveed 3. ♻️ Repost to your network

For anyone learning AI, 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 just shared two full 2025 courses on YouTube. Both are beasts, and totally free. Complete recordings. Pure gold. 𝗖𝗦𝟯𝟯𝟲: 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 (𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱) Core: how to build LLMs, not just prompt them. YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gB84A3FA Course website: https://lnkd.in/gbypCXWf ***My two cents: 100% gold, but very deep. This one dives straight into internals: tokenizers, embeddings, transformer blocks, resource accounting, parallelism, scaling laws, alignment (SFT/RLHF), etc. It’s not an easy overview. Better to get comfy with ML fundamentals first - PyTorch, linear algebra, deep learning basics... to get fully value out of it. It’s also heavy on coding: you’ll be building pieces from scratch, not just using libraries.*** 𝗖𝗦𝟮𝟯𝟭𝗡 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱) YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gtpaQHWj Course website: https://lnkd.in/giMXs_Fy PS. the intro lecture’s by Fei-Fei Li herself! ***Awesome, classic course on computer vision, but again, with strong prerequisites. You’ll want solid Python (NumPy, PyTorch), comfort with calculus and linear algebra, and some basic ML understanding (cost functions, gradient descent, etc). Even if you don’t meet all that or can’t finish it, still highly recommend giving it a watch, even partial exposure is worth it.*** 💡A few tips (especially if you don’t want to fall too deep down the rabbit hole): - Scan the syllabus / lecture list:  Start by reviewing what each lecture covers (tokenization, architectures, GPUs, scaling laws, alignment). Get a sense of the journey. - Pick key lectures relevant to your role, for example:  Tokenization & embeddings (to understand bottlenecks) Scaling laws & compute (if you think in stacks) Alignment & deployment (very topical) - Watch selectively, deeply:  You don’t necessarily need to code everything. But pick 1-2 assignments or minimal coding to anchor the experience (so you have first-hand experience). - Write short reflections: After each lecture or module, summarize what you learned, even just for yourself (this is something helped me a lot). Last but not least — match the course with some practical insights from the real world. A great YouTube channel to follow: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gAF6_2Ux Bite-size videos, focused on  - AI in business  - product insights from leaders - hands-on tutorials on AI tools and workflows Bit of a long note, but hope it’s helpful! __________ For more on AI and learning materials, plz check my previous posts. I share my journey here. Join me and let's grow together. Alex Wang #artificialintelligence #computerversion #deeplearning #llms

Below are 9 full scholarships currently open to African students . Many application deadlines closing soon! Hurry and APPLY!! The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is such a great program, offering scholarships, leadership opportunities, startup support, and pan-African networks. Africans under 35 are eligible, with women, refugees, and people with disabilities especially encouraged to apply. 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 Undergrad Deadline: 1 Nov (rolling for future cohorts) https://lnkd.in/dDQU2PxB 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 Graduate (Innovation and tech focused) Deadline: 2 Nov https://lnkd.in/d6crMnCH 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 Graduate (Healthcare focused) Deadline: 3 Nov https://lnkd.in/dBs2Ahj3 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐭 Graduate Deadline: 6 Nov (PhD), March 2026 (Masters) https://lnkd.in/d8zmFpuR 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐡 Graduate Deadline: 14 Nov (Application phase 1) https://lnkd.in/dbezewpW 𝐔𝐂 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐲 Graduate Deadline: 15 Nov (For fee waiver) https://lnkd.in/dGw_wbMf 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 Graduate Deadline: Early Dec to Jan. Varies by program https://lnkd.in/dEPpSitp 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 Graduate Deadline: 15 Dec https://lnkd.in/dGFaJtV9 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐏𝐨 Graduate Deadline: 4 Jan 2026 https://lnkd.in/dthr2HCi Cc:@ Matthew Grollnek Kindly #Repost and #tag someone that will be interested in this. #Apply