Development of an early career academic supervisor in Statistics in South Africa
Abstract
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’. Second, the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) student funding is not attractive to a student whom industry is already offering more to, as to pay fees and living expenses on the NRF bursaries are unrealistic for a full-time student. In response to these crises is Statistics, the NRF, since 2016, has provided funding to support postgraduate students who may be trained to enter academia after their PhD. The grant provided larger bursaries than the standard NRF bursaries, as well as funding to bring in expertise to train young staff. Despite this initiative, the lack of supervisory skills and capacity, especially at the Doctoral level, is evident across South African Statistical science departments. In 2020, a group of 8 novice, and near-novice, doctoral supervisors in academic Statistical science in South Africa initiated discussions that delved into the current state of academic Statistics in the country, specifically with regards to the nurturing of an early career academic supervisor in Statistics. These discussions have resulted in a clear need for actionable actions by and for early career academics in Statistics that involve a guiding rubric for the doctoral thesis, coupled with a reference guideline for early career supervisors in South Africa.