Life is one big mathematical equation for Aaron Naidu, and he’s counting on his mathematical mind to ace his Master’s when he heads off to Oxford University in the United Kingdom in October.
Mr Naidu, who completed his Honours in Statistics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) last year, has secured a place at Oxford University to complete his Master of Science Degree in Statistical Science.
Mr Naidu, respected by his peers and professors as “one of the dudes in data” is a talented mathematics student and has won several awards at a national and international level. He is also the only student to win the Tertiary Mathematics Olympiad outright while still in high school.
After being placed first in KwaZulu-Natal and second in South Africa in his matric examinations in 2019, he enrolled for a BSc in Data Science at UKZN.
He completed his degree summa cum laude in 2022 and was placed in the top 3% of every module, even after adding six modules to his study programme. During his honours studies, Mr Naidu was invited to present at the 2023 South African Statistics Association Conference and received the Zac Yacoob Scholarship for the best honours student at UKZN across all Colleges and Disciplines.
His intellectual prowess will now take him to the UK for a 12-month taught master’s programme that includes a research dissertation.
“This is really exciting for me. While awaiting the start of my master’s course, I will be completing actuarial science board exams and, in July, I will participate in a 10-week long quantitative trading internship with Jane Street Capital in the UK before proceeding to university,” said Mr Naidu.
“My aim is to do my PhD and then enter the workforce as a statistician, data scientist, or quantitative trader.”
Mr Naidu thanked his lecturers at UKZN for their instruction, particularly Emeritus Professor Poobhalan Pillay for nurturing his love of mathematics during high school and Professor Delia North for developing his interest in data science.
“We are so proud of this amazing young man,” said Professor North.
“Not only is he a top achiever, but he has participated in statistics outreach projects such as Women in Analytics and Dudes in Data every year and has been a wonderful role model to the next group of undergraduate students.”
