Dr Kurt Marais is currently a lecturer at Stellenbosch University in the field of Operations Research and Business Analytics. My teaching has been focused on linear programming, decision theory, social network analytics and information systems. His postgraduate teaching involves supervising students on short-term projects in collaboration with industry partners. This allows for students to apply their optimisation and mathematical modelling knowledge to real-world problems and gain industry experience during their studies. Dr Marais’ research focus relates to natural language processing tasks and simulation frameworks applied to information spread, affective computing and mental health research. He supervises students on research applying machine learning, emotion detection, data science and data analysis, all towards improved decision-making and optimisation in an ever-evolving technological space. He has an interest in language models and advancements in NLP for domain-specific tasks, as well as for improving digital health and well-being within an expanding information economy.
