Old Boy Kurt Schutte (2006) het onlangs die merkwaardige prestasie behaal om twee doktersgrade te verwerf vir navorsing waarin die Universiteit van Stellenbosch en die Katolieke Universiteit van Leuven in België saamgewerk het. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om bruikbare mediese insigte uit toestelle soos Fitbit, Polar en Garmin te verkry. Terwyl die akademici klaarblyklik gaande is oor hierdie deurbraak, sê die beskeie Kurt dat hy dankbaar is vir die geleentheid om sy passie in sy loopbaan uit te leef.
In November last year, after two hours of a thrilling defence, Kurt Schutte (2006) became the first student from Stellenbosch to successfully collaborate with KU Leuven in Belgium, resulting in achieving two doctorate degrees, one from each university, respectively. He received his US doctorate at the March graduation ceremony.
We asked Kurt about his research:
It turns out to be a very exciting time to be a Sports Scientist and Biokineticist. There have been rapid advancements in wearable technologies, computing power, and artificial intelligence that allow us to test ideas that have been dormant for decades. Most people may be familiar with commercial wearables such as Fitbit, Polar or Garmin. While these devices are cool, up until recently they haven’t really provided many meaningful or actionable insights.
My PhD research has looked beyond counting steps, by trying to automatically detect when a runner is fatigued and may be put at higher risk of injury (e.g. shin splints or knee pain) using wearable sensors placed on the body. Ten years after completing my Matric at Paul Roos, I feel very privileged to say that in November I achieved one of my dreams of becoming a Doctor in Biomedical Sciences (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Sport Sciences (Stellenbosch University). I am very grateful for all the support and opportunities I have been given to pursue my passions in my career.
My next goal is to actually bring our research to practice. I am currently, working in Belgium with a team of computer scientists and engineers to transfer our knowledge and technology to market, by providing better wearable solutions for runners and athletes.
Kurt Schutte
