Photo: From left to right: Discovery’s Jamie Whittaker, Chief Information Officer: Systems of Engagement, with Jaime Kruger, Mia Olivier, Kayleigh Koekemoer, David Nicolay and Discovery’s Group Chief Information Officer, Derek Wilcocks.

Stellenbosch University’s VitaliTeam — comprising final-year Bachelor of Data Science (BDatSci) students Mia Olivier, Kayleigh Koekemoer, Jaime Kruger and David Nicolay — took top honours at the prestigious 2025 Discovery GradHack competition.

Photo: The winning team comprised (from left to right) SU’s Jaime Kruger, Kayleigh Koekemoer, David Nicolay and Mia Olivier.

The team, representing three of the BDatSci programme’s focal areas — Behavioural Economics, Computer Science and Statistical Learning — showcased the interdisciplinary strength and innovation that define SU’s BDatSci degree.

Almost 200 teams from universities across South Africa entered the competition, each submitting ideas in response to Discovery’s challenge to develop a technical solution that either enhances Discovery’s products and services or addresses a broader South African challenge. VitaliTeam’s proposal placed them among the top 14 teams selected to participate in the virtual GradHack event.

“What began as a spontaneous sign-up quickly turned into one of the most rewarding experiences of our final year,” the team shared. “Together we built InsureShield, an AI-powered voice and text analysis system that detects potential insurance fraud in real time.”

Over a single weekend, the students developed a proof-of-concept model that extracted metrics from audio data, such as pitch, tone, and average pause length. These were then fed into a classification model. The system produced a fraud prediction displayed on an interactive dashboard for call-centre agents. “This enables real-time decision-making, transforming fraud detection from reactive to proactive,” they explained.

By Sunday evening, VitaliTeam learned that they were among the top three teams. They were flown to Discovery’s headquarters in Sandton to present their solution to a panel of senior executives. There they were announced as the overall winners, receiving R15 000 each and R50 000 for Stellenbosch University.

“Our BDatSci coursework undoubtedly prepared us for this challenge,” the team said. “Our different focal areas gave us a broad perspective on how to approach it. Winning the GradHack was a proud moment, but the real highlight was applying what we’ve learned to a real-world challenge and seeing how data and technology can solve meaningful problems.”

Speaking on behalf of the BDatSci academic staff, Prof Paul Mostert of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science expressed his pride: “We are incredibly proud of our students. It is reassuring to see graduates from this young and dynamic degree making their mark in South Africa’s data science landscape.

“The success of the VitaliTeam is a testament to the quality, relevance and interdisciplinary nature of the BDatSci programme. We look forward to celebrating the second cohort of BDatSci graduates in December 2025.”

The win underscores the BDatSci programme’s commitment to cultivating versatile data scientists who use innovation and collaboration to create meaningful change in society.