At Discovery we are obsessed with doing things differently
Our business is about changing people’s lives for the better. To be better for our clients, we are encouraged to always look for new ideas and ways to make those ideas real.
WE’RE ONE OF THE TOP INNOVATORS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Our ambition is to be the best insurance organisation in the world, and a powerful force for social good. Our company was started by two forward-thinking actuaries, Adrian Gore and Barry Swartzberg, who are still at the helm of the business. They started an early tradition in our business of always looking for clever ideas and solutions where others see problems.
Since then, we have become known as innovator and challenger; a business with people who transform what is ordinary into something extraordinary.
WE HAVE THE DATA. YOU BRING THE IDEAS
This year, we will host a virtual Discovery Graduate Hackathon for IT students from South African universities. 50 students will get a chance to be part of an immersive work experience solving real challenges through technology opportunities in the Discovery environment. The top 3 teams will be invited to present their ideas to our judging panel at 1 Discovery Place, Sandton on the 15 August 2025. Members of the winning team will each receive a cash prize to the value of R12 500, with the winning university receiving a cash prize of R50 000. Participating Gradhackers stand a chance to be permanently employed at Discovery. Please see out FAQ page if you have any questions not answered here.
50 students will get to experience our exciting environment
Our 2025 Virtual Gradhack runs from 1 to 3 August 2025. Please submit your applications by 30 May 2025 and be one of the students to take part in this event.
Open to all final year IT and Data Science Students studying at a South African University or Academy
Create moments of delight for our clients
As a leading financial services company with millions of clients worldwide, Discovery strives to dazzle clients at every interaction. We’d like you to develop new ideas using the latest technology to make interacting with Discovery easier for our clients. Think AI, RPA, Big data, IOT, cognitive cloud computing, VR and AR. As a starting point, have a look at our product offering on www.discovery.co.za for some inspiration.
THE CHALLENGE
Develop an idea to create moments of delight for Discovery Clients using the latest in AI, RPA. Blockchain, AR, location-based services and more...
Enhance Discovery products and services
Discovery has an important goal – to encourage people to change their lifestyle to become healthier, fitter, both physically and financially and to become safer drivers. Our products and services across all our businesses are aimed at enhancing and protecting people’s lives, we’re looking at ways to enhance our offering, think IOT, activity, driving and sleep tracking, gamification, VR and AR, and mass-personalisation. As a starting point, have a look at our product offering on www.discovery.co.za for some inspiration.
THE CHALLENGE
Develop an idea to enhance Discovery’s products using IOT, activity tracking, mass-personalisation and more...
Using tech to solve South African challenges
One of our stated goals is to be a powerful force for social good. South Africa is a complex place with many challenges. How can we use technology and data to solve some of the challenges that South Africans face on a daily basis? Think IOT, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Immersive Experience, and Artificial Intelligence.
THE CHALLENGE
Develop an idea to use technology as a force for social good.
Great Prizes up for grabs
- The winning team members will each receive a cash prize of R15 000
- Participating Gradhackers stand a chance to be permanently employed at Discovery
- The winning team's university will receive R50 000
Important to note: Employment offers are subject to candidates having successfully completed their qualification by January 2026.
Submit your idea
You can enter more than one idea for the same challenge, or enter more than one challenge.
A day in the life of a Gradhacker at Discovery
Meet some of the Discovery IT and Data Science Leaders that you will interact with...
Derek Wilcocks
Group CIO
Derek joined Discovery in 2018. He is responsible for Group Information Systems which includes all infrastructure, security, data governance, member and intermediary digital servicing channels, technology innovation and corporate systems. As the chair of the Discovery CIO forum he is also responsible for joint technology initiatives and governance across the Discovery Group worldwide.
Nadira Naidoo
Vitality CIO
Nadira joined Discovery in 2006 as a Business Analyst for the Vitality International Markets. In 2010, she moved over to Vitality RSA and headed up the systems implementation of the projects. Nadira is currently responsible for the IT governance, project delivery, support and finance within the Vitality RSA environment.
Kevin Dreyer
CIO Discovery Insure
Over the last 22 years Kevin has built a distinguished career in Consultancy, Agency, Enterprise environments and Financial Services. He has held various senior leadership roles, including Systems Management and Architecture.
Kevin started his career in 2002 in a very innovative startup and has been involved in startups and scaling businesses ever since. In 2010, he joined Vitality Life, playing a pivotal role in the Discovery Prudential Life journey. He was instrumental in transitioning the business from the PRU JV and defining and implementing a strategy to run the business and systems in both the UK and South Africa, ensuring an exceptional customer experience and delivering on the business strategy. Kevin's leadership helped establish Vitality Life as a leader in Digital, consistently achieving excellent business results.
In the past five years, Kevin has played a critical role in GIS, modernizing platforms, implementing digital transformation, and defining and executing strategies that significantly improve business capabilities. His efforts have significantly enhanced customer and staff experiences, as well as system performance and availability
Kevin's innovative approach and commitment to excellence have been key to the success of the teams that he has led. His unique ability to bridge technical and business domains allows him to effectively communicate with senior business leaders and inspire his team to deliver successful solutions. Kevin continues to demonstrate the Discovery leadership style and remains an inspiring thought leader, driven by his thirst for knowledge and dedication to business success.
Angela Robertson
Head Of Data Science
Angela joined Discovery a decade ago in the cross-company analytics team, focusing on the application of operations research in the business. The team has grown into the Group Data Science Lab – a team of close to 30 people - which she now leads. Their work follows the theme of the science of better: improving process efficiency, staff productivity, client sentiment and health.
The focus is on the creation of data assets and application of advanced modelling for the local and international markets, using the latest cloud technology. More recent work has seen data science enhance personalisation and precision in the form of new product design and the use of generative AI in servicing.
Zaid Parak
Group Chief Information Security Officer
Zaid has over 20 years of IT experience across a wide range of disciplines, including Networking, Infrastructure, Development, IT Operations, Enterprise Architecture, Security and working knowledge of Risk management with audit exposure.
Zaid joined Discovery in April 2017 and as the Group Chief Information Security Officer, he is accountable for Information Governance and Security at a group level and is responsible for setting the strategy and vision by developing and implementing group-wide programs. He is known for having a bias for action and has laid out a clear strategic path for the information governance security journey in Discovery. He has, since joining, successfully provided distinct strategic and technical leadership for the Information Governance and Security business function across the Discovery Group and knitted together a team under him who are dedicated and focused on preventing and detecting Cyber Crime.
Jamie Whittaker
Systems of Engagement CIO
Before joining Discovery, Jamie worked across the EMEA region for Johnson & Johnson. He cut his teeth on any and all projects that came his way during the .com bubble, working as general lackey and web monkey for a number of successful and not so successful dotcoms.
His background is primarily in the design, user champion and web development space. He describes himself as a "part-time thinker, full-time enthusiast, herder of cats" and truly believes that a sense of humour and enthusiasm are the best assets to have on your CV.
Johan Marais
Technology Services Platform Services Manager
Johan has been in the IT industry for more than 20 years and has work in several verticals ranging from Point of Sales Solutions, Customer Support, Enterprise Storage and for the last 9 years focusing on various forms of Virtualization and more recently in the role as Snr Platform Services manager where the focus is on Infrastructure DevOps practices across Private, Hybrid and Public cloud services.
Johan has been running the VMUG (VMware User Group) in South Africa for the past 7 years and has achieved the “vExpert” accreditation issued by VMware for the past 8 years. He also serves on the VMware Customer Technical Advisory Board (CTAB) as well as the CloudHealth Customer Advisory Board which has international representation and influences the future of virtualization, cost management, governance, automation, security, and performance management.