From Data Saiyans to Corporate Heroes: The Impact of Explore AI Academy on SA Business

 

The Evolution of Data Science in South African Business: A Historical Overview

Over the past few years, the field of data science has undergone a significant transformation in South Africa. Thanks to initiatives such as Explore AI Academy, a new generation of data experts has emerged, ready to tackle complex business problems and drive innovation in various industries.

Explore AI Academy started in 2018 with their initial cohort, with a mission to bridge the skills gap in the field of data science in South Africa. At the time, the demand for data science skills far exceeded the supply, leaving businesses struggling to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. Explore AI Academy saw this gap in the market and responded by creating a revolutionary and non-traditional academic curriculum, recruiting candidates based on a rigorous and tough recruitment process.

What made Explore AI Academy unique was that you didn't need a degree to enroll in their program, but you did need to pass their rigorous recruitment process. This opened up opportunities for underprivileged individuals, including some university dropouts, to get a second chance to pursue their academic journey without the stress of having to pay fees, as the Explore AI Academy program for Data Science was fully sponsored by Telkom SA Pty Ltd for the Cape Town based Cohorts, this is because they had acquired another campus the following year in Johanesburg - this campus would consists of interns sponsored by different companies such African Bank, Nedbank etc.

The year 2019 marked a significant milestone for Explore AI Academy as it saw the second cohort of data science students. It was during this year that Explore AI Academy class of 2019 gave birth to the "Data Saiyans." The Data Saiyans were a team of four smart black kids, comprising of three males and one powerhouse single female. The names of the members are Xolisa Mzini, Thabiso Mareletsa, Siphesihle Yapi, and Shaun Damon.

The Data Saiyans formed informally when they all expressed an interest in participating in a hackathon. The opportunity presented itself at the workshop hackathons hosted by Zindi Africa at the AI Expo Africa annual conference in 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. They entered the MIIA Pothole Detection hackathon informally, forming a team, and as with any hackathon, they needed to come up with a name for their team.

The Data Saiyans name was founded by Xolisa Mzini, one of the members of the Data Saiyans. Xolisa was a big fan of animation and loved Dragon Ball Z. This led to the formation of the team name, inspired by the powerful warriors in the Dragon Ball Z anime series.

The Data Saiyans went on to become a formidable team, winning several hackathons and competitions, and quickly gaining recognition in the data science community. Their success highlighted the potential of Explore AI Academy and showed how the program was creating a new generation of data experts who were changing the face of South African business.

"At the launch event, Zindi CEO, Celina Lee led, Data Saiyans, the team that took top honours at the Machine Learning Hackathon, on presenting their winning strategy on how they used the data provided to them to best predict the probability of when an incident would occur. From the pool of data provided the young scientists used factors such as weather conditions, structures of the roads, occurrence and frequency of accidents to best solve their challenge.

Siphesihle Yapi, member of the winning hackathon team adds, “Through these innovative solutions we are able to improve the townships in which we reside in to help them become smarter and ultimately enhance road safety.“ To date with their skills the young scientists have provided solutions to solve water as well as network connectivity issues in the various townships they live in Cape Town and hope to do more in the future."

Uber Movement now available in Cape Town | SME Tech Guru

 

A sneak peak into some of the hackathons they have attended and prizes won 👇:

• Sendy Logistics - Cape2Nairo Datathon(SA & Kenya)

Link to Hackathon on Zindi : Sendy Logistics Challenge - Zindi

Prize 💥: 1st Place

Submissions for #Cape2Nairo #Datathon are starting to roll in. Keeping an 👀 on you, team Data Saiyan's from CT... pic.twitter.com/I4xrqBTMZh

— i2ifacility (@i2ifacility) October 27, 2019

• Uber Movement SANRAL Cape Town Datathon

Link to Hackathon on Zindi : Uber Movement SANRAL Cape Town Challenge 

Prize 💥: 2nd Place

In conclusion, the evolution of data science in South African business has been a remarkable journey, with initiatives like Explore AI Academy playing a significant role. 

Through their innovative approach and rigorous recruitment process, Explore AI Academy has opened up new opportunities for power hungry and impact focused professionals regardless of their academic background - if they have the grit , they're heading the right direction and creating a new generation of data experts who are driving innovation and change in various industries. 

"The birth of the Data Saiyans is a testament to the success of Explore AI Academy, and the impact it is having on the South African business landscape."

STAY TUNED😉