Paulina Phoobane is a PhD candidate at CUT and a lecturer at Walter Sisulu University. She holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Free State, a Bachelor of Computer Science, and an Honours degree from the Central University 'Marta Abreu' of Las Villas in Cuba. Additionally, she has certificates in Data Science from the University of Cape Town and CompTIA++ training. Paulina has previous experience as a part-time IT lecturer at CUT and has worked as an IT lecturer and Executive Information Technology Consultant at EDUVOS. She has also served as an IT lecturer at the Independent Institute of Education (IIE MSA) and the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (Lesotho). She is a registered member of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals of South Africa and has presented papers at international and local conferences, published papers in journals, and contributed to book chapters. In 2023, she was awarded the Research and Innovation Systems in Africa (RISA) Fund from the University of Johannesburg to develop emerging digital technology-based (EDT-based) applications driven by big data analytics for socio-economic development. In the same year, she received a trophy from the Directorate of Research and Innovation (Office of Technology Transfer) at Walter Sisulu University in recognition of an early-stage innovation: an intelligent tool for malaria prediction that combines big climate data, machine learning, and indigenous knowledge.