South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists

Conferences

A primary strategic activity of the Institute has been the annual conference, which started in 1981 (predating the formation of the Institute). According to proceedings, the 4th conference was in 1987 and the 7th in 1992. From 1995, we have annual records. The conference has grown in stature over the years and is now indexed in the ACM Digital Library.

SAICSIT 2026 Conference

The School of Information Technology at the University of Cape Town is privileged to host the 47th edition of the South African Institute for Computer Scientists and Information Technologists Conference (SAICSIT) in Cape Town, from 13-15 July 2026.

The primary focus of the conference is to bring together researchers, scholars and industry participants to exchange and share their experiences and latest research results in all aspects of Computer Science and Information Systems. Given the recent increased international interest in Artificial Intelligence research and applications, the conference theme for 2026 is: “The Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence Systems and Sustainable Technologies in Africa”, where we will engage with research around advancements in Artificial Intelligence technological innovation across Africa.

From 2025, we host and archive conference websites on this server. Earlier sites, where available, can be accessed below. L

Conference history

Year	Place	Conference Chair/Host	Programme Chairs	Website
2026	University of Cape Town	Geoff Nitschke	Aslam Safla, Tebogo Bokaba, Wallace Chigona and Sunet Eybers	Link
2025	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Upasana Singh	Linda Marshall and Sunet Eybers	Link
2024	Gqeberha	M.C. du Plessis	Bukelwa Ngoqo and Aurona Gerber	Link
2023	North-West	Marijke Coetzee	Aurona Gerber	Link
2022	Cape Town	Judith Bishop and SAICSIT Council	Aurona Gerber	Link
2021	Online	Shawren Singh and Mathias Mujinga	Jan Mentz / Hugo Lotriet / Bobby Tait	Link
2020	Cape Town/Online	Izak van Zyl	Izak van Zyl / Anja Venter	Link
2019	Skukuza	Carina de Villiers	Hanlie Smuts	Link
2018	Port Elizabeth	Sue Petratos	Johan van Niekerk / Bertram Haskins	Link
2017	Thaba ‘Nchu	Muthoni Masinde	Pieter Blignaut/T. Stott	Link
2016	Johannesburg	Marijke Coetzee	Marijke Coetzee	Link
2015	Stellenbosch	Richard Barnett	Bruce Watson	Link
2014	Centurion	Alta van der Merwe, Carina de Villiers	Alta vd Merwe, Carina de Villiers	Link
2013	East London	John McNeill, Karen Bradshaw	Jane Nash, George Wells	Link
2012	Irene	Jan Kroeze, Ruth de Villiers	Helene Gelderblom, Hugo Lotriet	Link
2011	Cape Town	Irwin Brown	Kosheek Sewchurran, Hussein Suleman	Link
2010	Bela-Bela	Paula Kotze	Alta van der Merwe, Aurona Gerber	Link
2009	Vaal River	Barry Dwolatsky/Scott Hazelhurst	Jason Cohen, Scott Hazelhurst
2008	Wilderness	Jean Greyling	Reinhardt A Botha, Lynette Barnard
2007	Fish River	Jean Greling	Lynette Barnard, Reinhardt A Botha
2006	Somerset West	Judith Bishop	Judith Bishop, Trish Alexander
2005	White River	Judith Bishop	Judith Bishop
2004	Stellenbosch	Gary Marsden	Gary Marsden, Paula Kotze	Link
2003	Fourways	Jan Eloff	Jan Eloff	Link
2002	Port Elizabeth	Paula Kotze, Theda Thomas	Lucas Venter, John Barrow	Link
2001	Pretoria	Paula Kotze	Karen Renaud, Andries Barnard	Link
2000	Cape Town	Andy Bytheway	Philip Machanick, Andy Bytheway
1999	Hartbeespoort Dam		Philip Machanick
1998	Gordon’s Bay	G. Hattingh, P. Licker	Lucas Vanter, Dan Petkov
1997	Vanderbijlpark	JM Hattingh, Lucas Venter	Andre van der Waal
1996	Durban		Vevek Ram
1995	Pretoria	Lerine Steenkamp	Lerine Steenkamp
1992	Johannesburg	Judy Bishop	Judy Bishop
1991	Caledon
1987	Pretoria	Pieter Kritzinger	Pieter Kritzinger