Wits hosts Youth AI summit

Wits University’s Youth, AI and the Future of Work in South Africa Summit on September 7 put Matric-age students at the center of a policy and skills debate that is moving quickly in South Africa. Government speakers and youth-sector participants used the Johannesburg event to press for AI literacy, coding and entrepreneurship as practical tools for school-leavers. (sanews.gov.za) The summit was hosted at Wits by the South African Digital Governance Forum, according to coverage from the South African government news service and other local reports. The event’s message was concrete. Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike said South Africa should equip young people not only to use emerging technologies, but to “build it, shape it and drive the digital economy,” according to SAnews. (wits.ac.za) That phrasing placed the discussion beyond basic digital access and into participation in AI development and governance. ### Who showed up, and what did they say? Deputy Minister Mmapaseka Steve Letsike was one of the named speakers at the summit, and her remarks focused on inclusion in the AI economy. SAnews reported that she called for youth, women and people with disabilities to be empowered to build and shape emerging technologies, not just consume them. (sanews.gov.za) The National Youth Development Agency, or NYDA, was also presented in social briefing material as a participant pushing what it called a “skills revolution.” The emphasis in the available reporting was on AI literacy, coding and entrepreneurship as future-facing capabilities for Matric students and other young South Africans entering higher education or work. (sanews.gov.za) ### Why was Wits the venue for this conversation? Wits has spent much of 2026 building a visible public role in AI, data science and digital governance. In May, the university said Professor Benjamin Rosman, director of the Wits MIND Institute, had been appointed by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi to help formulate South Africa’s national AI policy. (sanews.gov.za) Rosman said at the time that South Africa risked becoming “only consumers of AI systems that are built elsewhere” unless it built local capacity in science, governance and application. That language closely matches the summit’s focus on training school-leavers to participate in AI systems rather than simply use them. (sanews.gov.za) ### What does this mean for students choosing courses? Wits’ own events calendar this year shows AI being discussed across both technical and policy tracks. In June, the university hosted a policy dialogue on “Education, Labour and Human-Centred Deployment” as part of a broader series on South Africa’s future AI policy. (wits.ac.za) In July, Wits hosted Africa’s first data science conference, which drew academics, postgraduate students, industry practitioners, policymakers and public-sector stakeholders. Conference chair Farai Mlambo said the event aimed to strengthen postgraduate development, deepen industry engagement and promote responsible, context-aware data science and AI. (wits.ac.za) ### How directly is Wits linking AI to jobs? More than 400 undergraduate and graduate participants attended the data science conference’s employability session, according to Wits. The university said that session connected students with industry representatives on opportunities for qualified data scientists. (wits.ac.za) Professor Lynn Morris, Wits deputy vice-chancellor for research and innovation, said in July that data science and AI were now central to how universities conduct research, how industries innovate, how governments make decisions and how young people “imagine their futures.” That language gives the clearest institutional frame for the summit’s future-of-work pitch. (wits.ac.za) ### What comes next after the summit? Wits’ 2026 programme suggests the university is likely to keep pairing technical training with governance and employability discussions. The university has already hosted AI policy dialogues, a data science conference and cross-disciplinary AI exchanges this year, all before the September summit. (wits.ac.za) The next concrete step for students is likely to be through Wits’ existing AI, data science and digital-policy channels, including programmes linked to the MIND Institute and future university events. South Africa’s revised national AI policy process, which Rosman is helping shape, also remains a named policy milestone beyond the summit. (wits.ac.za 1) (wits.ac.za 2) (wits.ac.za 3)