Biometry Lecturer host International Researcher

In April earlier this year biometry lecturer, Mr. Stephan van der Westhuizen, hosted his PhD supervisor, Professor Gerard Heuvelink (Wageningen University, the Netherlands) at Stellenbosch. The main purpose of Prof. Heuvelink’s research stay was to work on Stephan’s PhD, but also to collaborate with other researchers across the faculties of Agriscience and Science. Professor Heuvelink also presented a talk at the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences in partnership with the South African Statistical Association and the Spatial Statistics interest group. They also had to time for leisure. “It is not difficult to entertain an international researcher in our beautiful town. We went wine tasting and visited fantastic restaurants around Stellenbosch. There was even time to visit Cape Town and its surroundings,” added Stephan. Suffice to say, Prof. Heuvelink is most definitely coming back for another stay next year in 2023.

Later in the year Stephan will also visit ISRIC in Wageningen for six months to continue with his PhD. ISRIC-World Soil Information is an independent foundation situated in Wageningen that hosts global soil information. Stephan’s PhD is on digital soil mapping and how it can be enhanced with machine learning models. The research visit to South Africa by Prof. Heuvelink and Stephan’s stay in the Netherlands is supported by Stephan’s Thuthuka NRF grant, as well as by funding received from the Climate, Food and Farming, Global Research Alliance Development Scholarships Programme (CLIFF-GRADS).