Botswana’s first Astrophysics PhD: Ntwaetsile reaches for the stars

Mmegi: Kindly provide your brief background, where you are from, your primary and secondary education, how you made your choice of study at tertiary and what that choice was?

Ntwaetsile: I am Dr Kushatha Ntwaetsile, a Computer Scientist turned Astronomer. I graduated with an MSc in Computer Science from BIUST. Before then, I had obtained my undergraduate Degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Sunderland in collaboration with Botswana Accountancy College. Recently, I obtained a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Hertfordshire-UK, making me the first Motswana to obtain a PhD in Astrophysics.

I have a few years of working experience in the academic space. Whilst studying for my MSc, I also had an opportunity to serve as a Graduate Teaching assistant at the Department of Academic Literacy for a little over two years. I also worked as a Lab Demonstrator at the University of Botswana's Computer Science Department. While studying for my PhD in the UK, I worked as an Online Tutor for the University of London, where I supported the BSc Computer Science and MSc Data Science programmes for over 3 years. Currently, I am working for the SKA/AVN and BotSat-1 Projects in BIUST as a Software and Data Processing Engineer.

I was born and raised in Tsamaya village in the North-East District of Botswana and spent part of my childhood in Motokwe village in Kweneng West. Due to my mother being a teacher, I changed schools quite a lot. I started my primary school in Etsha 6 and finished it off between Phatogo and Aerodrome Primary schools in Francistown. For secondary schools, I went to Mmei JSS, Francistown and Moruakgomo JSS, Molepolole and finished off at Kgari Sechele SSS in Molepolole.

Growing up, I had always wanted to be a lawyer but all that changed when I was doing Form 4 at Kgari Sechele Senior where I met my Computer Studies teacher, Mr Ganga who made me fall in love with computers. I guess I was just intrigued by this new world that I had never experienced before. After acing my BGCSE Computer Studies, I then decided to go to BAC and do a BSc in Computer Systems Engineering and that's where I developed interest in Big Data analytics.

Mmegi: For many young Batswana, particularly women, computer science is not the career path of choice. What made it appealing to you and what dream did you have that influenced that?

Ntwaetsile: The versatility of the field: Computer Science can be applied to many different fields. For example, for my MSc I was working on machine learning and stock market prediction which combined finance and Computer Science and for my PhD I was working on radio galaxy classification using unsupervised machine learning which combined Astronomy and Computer Science. It's amazing how Computer Science can be applied to almost all fields especially in the era of Big Data.

Mmegi: You made the move from computer science to astronomy. Briefly share with our readers what brought about or informed that choice?

Ntwaetsile: While doing my MSc in BIUST, there was a call for basic Astronomy Training through an organization called DARA (Development in Africa through Radio Astronomy). At that point I didn't know much about Astronomy but after the basic training I learned that through Astroinformatics, you can combine Astronomy, Data Science and Machine Learning. After completion of this training there was an opportunity for advanced training which included doing a PhD. And since I was already working on machine learning and data science for my MSc thesis, I then applied for a PhD in the United Kingdom and I got a scholarship through the same organisation, DARA and started my PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. My thesis was on machine learning in Astronomy, and I successfully defended it in February this year, making me the first Motswana to hold a PhD in Astrophysics.

Mmegi: What does the field of astronomy entail and what does it specifically involve in Botswana?

Ntwaetsile: Astronomy is the study of objects in the universe beyond the Earth's atmosphere. This includes objects we can see with our naked eyes, like the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars and those that we can only see with telescopes like galaxies. Astronomy is not a new field in Botswana; it's an old natural science. The older generation have done it though they didn't term it Astronomy and it was not documented. But our parents used celestial objects like the stars for navigation, the sun for timekeeping, stars like Selemela for agricultural planning.

Following on from those practices, we now have modern Astronomy and BIUST will be the host for Astronomy projects in Botswana.

Mmegi: The field of astronomy in Botswana is one that not too many people are familiar with. For you, what sparked your interest in this field?

Ntwaetsile: The desire to analyse and gain insights from large datasets using machine learning. Astronomy is one of the fields which has high usage of Big Data and astronomers are gathering an exponentially greater amount of data everyday. Astronomical surveys contain billions of objects observed in different wavelengths and this data allows new discoveries. I was also curious to understand different phenomena in the universe.

Mmegi: Many developed countries appear to be light years ahead of countries such as Botswana in terms of research and development in astronomy. What can Botswana do to contribute further to the wealth of knowledge in this field?

Ntwaetsile: In order to cultivate Astronomy in Botswana, we need to encourage Astronomy as a method of education to help teach mathematics, science and technology concepts. To drive our dream of a knowledge-based economy, as a country, I believe we need to invest in science and research as well as make policies and strategies that support the development of space science. We should also benchmark from countries like South Africa, whose investment in Astronomy has stimulated the country’s economy as well as boosting their tourism and creating jobs. We should increase general interest in science and encourage public engagement.

Mmegi: There's a view that because countries such as Botswana are classified as developing, students or learners should focus on "bread and butter" fields of study such as agriculture, artisan skills and others. Some people struggle to see the benefits of sciences such as astronomy to their everyday lives. Please share with our readers why Batswana should show more interest in astronomy and how it helps them?

Ntwaetsile: Astronomy is not all about studying stars as most people think. The Astronomy value chain is quite wide and involves a number of experts from Engineers to Data analysts, like myself and our team. There are also some technology spin offs from Astronomy - that is many technologies that were developed for use in Astronomy but found their way into our daily lives. This includes the invention of Wi-Fi and CCD detectors which can be found in digital cameras and technology developed for gamma ray observations is used in airport luggage belt scanners. This shows that technology transfer is one of Astronomy’s societal benefits.

Mmegi: Please share what you can about Astronomy projects at BIUST. What do they entail, what has been achieved thus far and what are your targeted achievements?

Ntwaetsile: The first project we have is the implementation of the AVN Telescope. Botswana will be one of the African countries that will be taking part in the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which will be the world’s largest ground based Radio Astronomy Project. As a precursor to this project, Botswana through BIUST will host the AVN (African VLBI Network) Radio Astronomy telescope. The AVN is a network of radio telescopes on the African continent which will help develop skills and capacity in the SKA partner countries to optimise participation in the SKA.

The second project we have is the envisaged Astro-Park project at BIUST. This project is set to produce benefits to education, research, technology development and tourism which will contribute significantly towards economic diversification, innovation and the development of a knowledge-based economy in Botswana. AstroPark will include a 50 seater planetarium which will be a sky theatre simulating the night sky and a National Optical Observatory which will include a 1-meter optical telescope.

The main aim of this project is to reaffirm the importance of space science in driving Botswana towards a knowledge-based economy. This project will also enhance the interest of primary and secondary school students in the appreciation of STEM subjects. The total budget for this project is around P40 million, and as a team we have started some fundraising initiatives where we visit different organizations to raise funds for this project.

Lastly, we have the Hydrogen Intensity Real Time Analysis Experiment (HIRAX) project which is a collaboration between BIUST, University of Kwazulu Natal and other international partners. This is an array of radio telescopes that will map the southern sky and some of its science goals including probing the dark energy, searching for pulsars and Fast Radio Burst (FRBs) and studying the neutral hydrogen absorbers. The HIRAX outrigger will be placed in BIUST.

All these projects are targeted at placing Botswana at the forefront of Astronomy research.

Mmegi: For young women and girls who face many challenges to complete their primary and secondary education, on top of the competing, more popular fields of study such as commerce and arts, what is your advice to those who may want to follow in your footsteps?

Ntwaetsile: The most important thing is to believe in yourself and work hard. Do whatever it takes to get to your goal and don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Also, find a mentor - someone who will help you do what you want to do. Lastly, there are many opportunities for women, with determination you will achieve a lot of things.

Mmegi: Many learners suffer from a fear of mathematics from a young age and shy away from any studies at tertiary level that look like they may require these skills. What do you think can be done more to encourage young women and girls in the area of STEM?

Ntwaetsile: They need more than just encouragement to show them that it is possible to be successful as a girl or woman in STEM. We need to show them real examples of women and girls who are successful in STEM and this will help get rid of any doubts they may have in what they are capable of accomplishing.

We also need to show them how STEM impacts the world and make learning STEM subjects fun. Lastly, as women already in STEM we should mentor young girls so that we build their confidence in taking up STEM subjects.

Mmegi: Any last words to our readers?

Ntwaetsile: Astronomy is the new diamond and there are endless opportunities in this field. Let's support the younger generation especially girls to take up subjects in STEM.