My grandmother was my first engineering teacher: global AI expert

Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, who recently received his honorary doctoral degree in engineering from the University of Pretoria, says his grandmother was his first engineering teacher. The honorary doctorate was conferred in recognition of his exceptional contributions in South Africa and globally.

During the faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology’s graduation ceremony, Marwala used his keynote address to reflect on how his grandmother unknowingly laid the foundation for his future in engineering, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) through her intuitive craft.

His grandmother, Vho Tshianeo Marwala, was an organic engineer, master potter and mat weaver.   

“What fascinated me the most as a child was how she gently knocked on her clay pots, listening to the sound that revealed whether the pots were strong or weak. Little did I know then that this simple act would ignite a lifelong passion to understand, test, innovate and solve problems to improve the world around us,” says Marwala. 

While Marwala was studying at UP, he discovered that clay pot knocking is called vibration excitation and that using sound to assess the integrity of clay pots is known as non-destructive testing. He realised that his grandmother’s intuitive engineering lessons mirrored the scientific principles he would go on to study. 

“In fact, my grandmother was my first engineering teacher. She taught me material selection without algorithms, optimisation without equations, and the art of slow cooling without needing to know the Boltzmann equation. When she tested her pots by the length of their ring, she unknowingly applied principles of structural vibration that I later encountered here in Prof Stefan Heyns’ vibration course,” he said.

Marwala’s grandmother was also his first business teacher, he said. 

She sold pots, mats and snuff.

When her snuff business stopped turning a profit, she closed it, teaching him about profit and loss. She was also a storyteller of ngano (Venda fairytales). Marwala learnt about wisdom, mischief, morality and resilience from her grandmother's fairytales. 

“I have drawn on these lessons in diplomacy, leadership and teaching, sometimes using stories to explain even the most complex technical ideas,” said Marwala. 

Above all, he told the audience, his grandmother instilled essential leadership values, the importance of education, the art of listening, seizing opportunity, staying focused on the goal, using intuition, acting with humility, practising patience, having the courage to change course, and being broad-minded. 

He told graduates that their personal journey won't be a straight line — his journey passed through a brewery. One time after brewing one of the famous beer labels, he had his own Damascus moments — to “go and brew people, not beer”. That's when he resigned and went to Wits University to be an academic.

“Today I serve as the UN University’s rector and a UN undersecretary-general based in Tokyo, Japan.”

He told the students: “There will be detours, obstacles and moments of doubt, but your greatest lessons lie within those twists and turns. Whether you come from a great city or a small village like Duthuni, you can change the world.”

He said in this era of AI, the ability to learn and relearn is the currency that will take students far. Students must let their life be a journey of learning, discovery and service — the world is waiting for their light. 

“Those who do not read must not lead, unless they are going to lead us into temptation and deliver us into poverty.” 

Marwala dedicated his honorary degree to his grandmother and his family, mentors, colleagues, students and the people of South Africa, whose resilience and spirit inspire him daily.

According to Prof Wynand Steyn, dean of the EBIT faculty at UP, the university is proud of its contribution towards Marwala’s development as an engineer and a visionary. “He took up the challenge of using his engineering and leadership skills to help make South Africa, Africa and the world at large a better place.” 

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