DIRISA annual Student Datathon Challenge

“There is a global acknowledgement of the potential of data science to drive sustainable development in all spheres. South Africa, regarded as a lower-middle-income country, is among the most digitally excluded communities in the world. There is a huge demand for data science skills globally and, more so, in South Africa. Growing a cadre of data scientists is vital for bridging the digital divide and fostering a generation of data scientists and talent that can create solutions that will power socio-economic growth and transformation. In addition to supporting the creation of good-quality jobs, improving financial inclusion, and tackling crises ranging from climate change to food insecurity, data science is key to improving the competitiveness of South African industries,” articulated Dr Anwar Vahed, DIRISA Manager.

From 2 to 4 December 2023, the Data-intensive Research Initiative of South Africa (DIRISA) hosted the Student Datathon Challenge (SDC) at the Kruger Grate Hotel.

DIRISA is a programme of the National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System (NICIS), a national initiative of the Department of Science and Innovation and is implemented by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The theme of the 2023 SDC focused on addressing youth unemployment by using open data to create innovative and creative data-driven solutions. Themes are always geared towards addressing societal problems in South Africa while aligning with sustainable development goals.

Dr Nobubele Shozi, Data Stewardship Manager at DIRISA, says “Youth unemployment is a devasting challenge facing our country. The Datathon has shown the capabilities and innovation that the youth of South Africa have towards solving daily issues faced by the country through technology and creative thinking. We are thankful to our sponsors, Korbicom Education Trust, Spectralogic, and Momentum, for seeing the vision that we have through the Datathon and believing in the problems the students solve and the innovations that they create.”

Overall, the challenges consisted of three phases, which comprised Research, Technical and Forecasting as well as problem-solving. The participating teams were the secondary schools of Phateng and Mamelodi, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Sol Plaatjie University, University of Fort Hare, University of Zululand, Tshwane University of Technology, University of Witwatersrand, University of Western Cape, Vaal University of Technology, University of Mpumalanga and the University of Cape Town.

Vahed further stated, “The annual DIRISA Datathon competition has been very successfully held since 2019 and is well acknowledged by key government and private stakeholders as an important endeavour to raise awareness of the value of data science and to upskill students and prospective students at academic institutions. Student teams from various universities and some high schools have been tackling and producing innovative solutions to relevant challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to socio-economic crises. Sponsors recognise the value of this event by sponsoring various aspects, such as awards and prizes.”

On 7 December 2023, the conference concluded with an awards ceremony, which was held at the Nombolo Mdhuli conference site in Skukuza Rest Camp, where the winners of the Datathon challenges were announced.

The winner of the Research Poster Challenge and the Technical Challenge was Sol Plaatjie University’s “The Domain’ators”. The winner of the Best Team was the University of Mpumalanga’s “Fix8t”. Two bursary awards worth a hundred thousand rand each were awarded to the best male, Mr Daniel Kenan Slinda from the University of Mpumalanga and the best female, Miss Tshepiso Mogola from Phateng Secondary School.

The Datathon is a much-needed event towards achieving strategic and science priorities. The next conference will be held in December 2024.