StatSNetSA

There is an increasing pull of a Mathematical Sciences graduate to enter industry rather than pursue further postgraduate studies. Within South Africa, there is an urgent need to address this even more as the field of Statistics is particularly affected by the 4IR pull, resulting in a crisis in academic capacity building. Two primary factors can be isolated as those preventing the correction of this: First, academic salaries in Statistical Sciences are not comparable to what industry would pay at the same level of qualification (especially in light of the growth of ‘Data Science’). Young academics may hold out for a while but are often dissuaded by the pressure of a large undergraduate teaching load, resulting in an ageing academic group within South Africa. Second, the lack of sufficient supervisory skills and capacity, especially for the doctoral level, is evident across South African Statistics departments. This Statistics Supervision Network in South Africa (StatSNetSA) was created for early- and mid-career Statistics academics across South Africa to provide each other with support and guidance on how to effectively supervise Statistics doctoral students.