ABOUT REJOICE CHITENGU
Rejoice's academic journey has been marked not just by personal excellence, but by a deep commitment to mentorship, social upliftment, and impactful innovation. From tutoring and mentoring over 400 students to facilitating tech skills workshops for unemployed youth in the Northern Cape, she has made education a tool for empowerment. Rejoice consistently uses data and technology not only to solve problems but to create meaningful, real-world change in society.
Rejoice is committed to using her skills in technology and education to drive meaningful change in her community and beyond. Since 2020, she has been volunteering in her small hometown in the North West province, helping Grade 12 learners with Mathematics and Physical Science, ensuring they are better prepared for university and careers in STEM. At university, she has mentored over 65 first-year students, providing academic support and guidance.
The work of Rejoice Chitengu
- Civil Unrest Forecasting Using Deep Learning Rejoice developed a deep learning model using LSTM and attention mechanisms to forecast civil unrest events in South Africa based on Twitter and ACLED data. The model identifies patterns that precede unrest and provides early warnings to assist policymakers and disaster response teams. This innovative work earned her a Distinction in her Honours research and won 1st Place at the Global Change Research Conference.
- Smart Agriculture and Plant Disease Detection Platform Focused on South Africa’s Northern Cape province, this project involved building a machine learning-powered platform that detects plant diseases, predicts crop yields, and provides accessible tools for farmers. Designed to support small-scale agriculture and food security, the project earned 3rd Place in the NEMISA Datathon 2023/24.
- Youth Unemployment and Blue-Collar Empowerment This project analyzed youth unemployment trends in South Africa using data science, uncovering root causes and building AI models that offer job-matching, upskilling, and support systems tailored to blue-collar workers. The solution won 1st Place at the DIRISA National Datathon 2023 for its relevance and social impact.
- Student At-Risk Prediction for Kimberley Boys’ High School As part of a second-year research project, Rejoice and her team built a data science model to identify students at risk of academic failure at Kimberley Boys’ High School. The tool supported early intervention strategies for educators and earned the team a Distinction in their 2022 research project.