Moses Phiri, widely known as DJ 10111, graduated with a PhD in statistics from the North-West University (NWU) on 22 May 2024.

He is the second DJ to achieve this academic milestone at the NWU, following DJ HK who earned a PhD in geography in 2022.

Born and raised in Mahikeng, he completed his bachelor’s degree in statistics in 2009 and his honours degree (cum laude) in 2010. His pursuit of education continued at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, where he completed a postgraduate diploma in general management in 2018 and an MBA in strategic leadership in 2020.

He then returned to the NWU to pursue an MSc in business statistics, graduating with distinction. His PhD thesis focused on the "Robustness of Machine Learning in Dealing with Outliers and Missing Values”. Both his master’s and PhD degree were supervised by Prof Dan Metsileng.

During his academic journey at the Mahikeng Campus Moses was an active student leader, serving as chairperson of the Commerce and Administration Council (CSRC) and showing a strong commitment to student welfare.

As DJ 10111, he was a prominent figure in the campus music scene, serving as the resident DJ. He co-founded the NWU DJ Society with fellow DJs, including DJ Redds and DJ Bobzen. His talent and passion for music led him to share the stage with renowned DJs such as Black Coffee, Zakes Bantwini, DJ Dimples, Ralf Gum, Sir LSG, Positive K, Christos and Vinny Da Vinci.

His career path is equally impressive. After obtaining his honours degree, he joined Statistics South Africa. In 2012 he joined GfK – a German market research company – and then moved to Nielsen Marketing as a data science manager in 2016.

Currently residing in Australia, Moses is the data science director at NielsenIQ – a consumer intelligence company – supporting operations in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Reflecting on his journey, Moses says: "Balancing my passion for music and academic pursuits has been challenging but rewarding. I'm grateful for the support from the NWU and the opportunities that have come my way."

His achievements underscore the possibility of excelling in both creative and academic fields, inspiring many to follow in his footsteps.

Dr Moses Phiri (right) with his supervisor, Prof Dan Metsileng.