Marelie Davel
Marelie Davel is a Research Professor whose work connects speech technology for under-resourced languages with deep-learning theory. She studied computer science and mathematics at Stellenbosch University and completed a University of Pretoria PhD on bootstrapping pronunciation models in 2005. In 2009, she coauthored a process for pronunciation dictionaries in ten South African languages, joined North-West University in 2011, shared its Top Technology Innovator Award in 2013, and became director of MuST in 2014. Her team studied how deep networks handle unfamiliar situations and make decisions in 2022, and she coauthored a 2024 paper on transformer-based text generation for Sepedi. As of October 2026, she is NWU's Research Professor, directs the MUST Deep Learning group, holds its national SARChI chair, and hosts a CAIR node.
- Now at
- North-West University
Timeline
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2005
A PhD on pronunciation models
She earns undergraduate degrees in computer science and mathematics at Stellenbosch University. In 2005, she completes a PhD at the University of Pretoria with a thesis on bootstrapping pronunciation models.
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2009
Pronunciation dictionaries for ten languages
In 2009, she coauthors a process to develop and verify pronunciation dictionaries for ten of South Africa's official languages.
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2011
Joining North-West University
She joins North-West University in 2011.
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2013
A technology innovation award
In 2013, she and Etienne Barnard receive NWU's Top Technology Innovator Award.
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2014
Directing MuST
She becomes director of the Multilingual Speech Technologies (MuST) research group in 2014, which focuses on postgraduate training and external projects.
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By 2022
Deep learning at MuST
By 2022, she and her team study how deep neural networks respond to unfamiliar situations and why they make their decisions. Their applied work includes speech processing, traffic prediction, space weather, and airfoil design.
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2024
Transformer models for Sepedi
In 2024, she coauthors a paper on pre-training a transformer-based generative model with a small Sepedi dataset.
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As of October 2026
Research Professor at NWU
MUST receives the national SARChI chair in Deep Learning for 2025–2030. As of October 2026, she is a Research Professor in NWU's Faculty of Engineering, director of the MUST Deep Learning group, and holder of the chair; she hosts a CAIR node and focuses on deep-learning theory and under-resourced models.
Career
- Since 2011North-West UniversityResearch Professor, Director
Education
- 2005University of PretoriaPhD
- Stellenbosch UniversityUndergraduate degrees in computer science and mathematics
Sources and credits
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