Prof Tommie Meyer was honoured with the 2025 SAICSIT Pioneer award at the organisation’s 46th Annual conference that was held in Umhlanga from July 17th to 18th, 2025.
Founded in 1982, the South African Institute for Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (SAICSIT) aims to further the study and application of computer science.
Prof Meyer, a Computer Science professor at the University of Cape Town, holds the DSTI/NRF-UCT Co-funded Research Chair in Symbolic Artificial Intelligence. He serves as Deputy Director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Unit (AIRU) and Co-Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR). Internationally recognised as a leading authority in Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, he is one of only three South African computer scientists to have earned an A-rating from the South African National Research Foundation.
As one of the key national figures shaping South Africa’s AI research agenda, Prof Meyer was invited in 2017 by the African Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) of NEPAD—now the African Union Development Agency (AUDA)—to deliver a presentation on artificial intelligence in the African context. His talk in Accra prompted APET to commission a report on AI as an emerging technology, which was subsequently presented to the African Union parliament. Recognised as an authority on the subject, he is a frequent voice in the media and delivers webinars and public lectures on AI.
Meyer has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed research publications, including journal articles, book chapters, and papers in conference and workshop proceedings. He has overseen seven postdoctoral fellows, supervised seven PhD candidates and twenty Master’s students to completion, and is currently supervising six PhD and nine Master’s students.
Full original article can be found on https://sit.uct.ac.za/articles/2025-07-23-saicsit-pioneer-award