Professor Kanshukan (Kanshu) Rajaratnam joined Stellenbosch University as the inaugural director of the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking in January 2020. Prior to 2020, he was an associate professor of finance at University of Cape Town, where he also held multiple leadership roles – faculty strategic projects manager, deputy dean and acting dean of the Faculty of Commerce. His research is in the application of data science and operations research in finance and banking. He is currently rated an internationally acclaimed researcher by the National Research Foundation (NRF). He has work experience in industry – Accenture and Nedbank in South Africa and Capital one in the United States America.

Prof Rajaratnam leads a School with a vision to be a world-class institution in data science and computational thinking in and for Africa. It has since its launch in July 2019, achieved global recognition and impact. One of its researchers led the sequencing of the Omicron variant of the novel Coronavirus, which resulted in that researcher gaining recognition by Nature Publications as one of the ten most exciting scientists globally for 2021. In addition, the School has in its ranks two researchers deemed by the National Research Foundation (NRF) as internationally acclaimed researchers. His goal is to facilitate greater number of industry and academic collaborations for the School.