Change the world

26/04/2023

Working in collaboration with medical practitioners at Livingstone Hospital, statistics lecturer at Mandela University Dr Sisa Pazi, has contributed to quality and benchmarking at the hospital with his statistical model for his PhD in Statistics.
Dr Pazi graduated at the University’s Autumn Graduation on 24 April, the first and only doctoral graduate in his family.
 
His statistical model also predicts in-hospital mortality and the study resulted in four research articles (published in DHET accredited journals), four international conference presentations, and two national conference presentations. Dr Pazi‘s postdoctoral research will extend his PhD study to include other hospitals in South Africa and other African countries. 
 
“It was my childhood dream to travel the world as I never had the opportunity to travel as a child. Doing my PhD, with Prof Gary Sharp as supervisor, and receiving a research grant from the National Research Foundation, enabled me to travel abroad. Since 2018, I have been to six countries, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, England, the Netherlands and the United States, presenting my PhD research at international conferences.
 
 
“My mother passed away when I was seven years old. I then went to live with my grandmother, who at the time had no source of income, and was taking care of five grandchildren. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. I understand this quote very well as my grandmother primarily relied on alms to put food on the table. It gives me great pleasure, however, to say that despite the difficulties, not a single day have I ever gone to bed hungry”, Dr Pazi says, who grew up in Alice in the Eastern Cape. 
 
In 2014, he became the first graduate in his family, obtaining a BSc in Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics cum laude at the University. Due to the situation at home, he had to work part-time while doing his BSc Honours, graduating in 2015 and in his second year of MSc in Mathematical Statistics in 2016, he was employed permanently as a lecturer in statistics at the University. 
 
In 2018, he registered for his PhD part-time as he was working full-time and had a family. Sisa is married to Sinoyolo, who obtained her BTech in Diagnostic Radiography and Diploma in Radiography from Mandela University and works as a radiographer at Adelaide Hospital. They have two children, Zingce, 13 years’ old and Lucwangco 10 months.
 
“We also got married on 24 April 2021, on the same day as I have received my PhD now”, Sisa says.   
 

Contact information
Ms Elma de Koker
Internal Communication Practitioner
Tel: 041-504 2160
elma.dekoker@mandela.ac.za