North-West University: NWU student chosen as expert to train competitors in prestigious BRICS Skills Challenge

Sibongiseni Buthelezi, a third-year BSc computer science, mathematics and statistics student at the North-West University (NWU), has been chosen as one of the experts to train competitors taking part in the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Future Skills Challenge that will take place in China from 1 to 6 November.

In this challenge, individuals and/or teams from BRICS countries work on real-world problems in their specific skill areas to develop solutions using their specialised skills and experiences.

Sibongiseni was chosen by the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) to train competitors in the category Digital Capabilities for Business. He will be training competitors to use data analysis tools, generate data visualisations, analyse customer, competitor and market data, and to apply strategic and operational decision-making.

“I am really honoured to be one of the experts in this esteemed competition and it is a great achievement for me. I was chosen because of the data science skills I acquired from NEMISA,” says Sibongiseni.

The 25-year-old who hails from Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal is a top achiever and member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

He shares that he lives by Brazilian football legend Pelé’s mantra: “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”