Pioneering Data Science for Big Data in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities in Educational Sector

With the rise in big data, the desire and need to utilize it for impactful decision making and predictions in the society has increased. This has however, compelled the society to undergo some digital transformations. At the core of these transformations is data science, the discipline that facilitates analysis and effective extraction of hidden and important patterns from big data for decision making. Data science, particularly in the context of big data, has emerged as a pivotal field that drives innovation and decision-making across various industries worldwide [1, 2]. In South Africa, while various effort come noted in pioneering data science for big data, educational sector is presented with a unique set of challenges and opportunities when it comes to pioneering data science for big data. Hence, the authors conducted a systematic review that provides a reflective effort and affords the opportunity to identify challenges and opportunities in empowering South African community on data science for big data. The researchers searched PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus to identify relevant articles published between 2013 and 2023. The qualitative approach was employed to analyse available information thematically. A total of 206 peer reviewed research papers were identified. These research papers were further filtered, and a total of 42 relevant papers were eventually selected. Based on the findings, advocacy for data science has brought about several notable impacts on various aspects of society leading to improved decision-making, innovation, competitiveness, and societal problem-solving. Also, while there are challenges that may impede empowering South Africa community on data science, the study also identified some opportunities and recommended ways to address these challenges.