The Regenesys School of Technology has “quite a few” qualifications in the pipeline, says CEO Nicolaas Kruger, including a post-grad diploma in data science that will be unveiled in October.
Kruger mentioned this during an interview with ITWeb TV, explaining the 25-year-old educational institute’s move to venture into technology-focused education.
The Regenesys School of Technology was launched in February, with the first intake in March, according to the CEO. It kicked off with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in computer science.
The three-year degree, he explained, features 365 credits, as well as a personal mastery module.
“We now have our post-grad diploma in data science that’s rolling out in October,” he said. “It [data science] is going to become a massive qualification in itself, but our students that are doing the BSc can also continue with their formal studies by doing the post-grad themselves.
“We want to cater to what the market needs and where technology is going; for example, artificial intelligence, data science and cyber security.”
Kruger did not divulge further details, only stating: “We’ve only been going for a few months, but there’s already a lot of scope for development and we’re going to be at the forefront of that.”
The 2022 JCSE-IITPSA ICT Skills Survey found growing demand for fourth industrial revolution skills, particularly in areas such as data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, along with software developers and cyber security specialists.
Data science is a critical and scarce skill across the country in various sectors. For example, financial services and projects like the Square Kilometre Array and MeerKAT radio telescope are increasingly demanding data-centric skills.
The Regenesys Group is a private higher education provider, with campuses in Sandton, Lagos and Mumbai, with over 200 000 students and alumni from 190 countries.
Its educational offering is made up of schools focusing on business, law, finance and public management.
According to Kruger, given how technology touches and impacts every sector, it was important for an institution like Regenesys to go into this this field of study.
“With technology, there’s obviously so much opportunity in the market, but for Regenesys it’s about ‘awakening potential’, and there’s so much potential that we can awaken in this specific field of study.”
Kruger further explained that getting the Regenesys School of Technology off the ground was years in the making, as it had to be accredited with the Council on Higher Education, South African Qualifications Authority and the Department of Higher Education and Training.
He added that the qualifications process “can take many years, so the work started many years ago’.
Plans are now in place to bring in the second intake.
“It just made sense for Regenesys to go into the technology space. I know that technology has got the ability to really accelerate change, which is something we really need in South Africa.”
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