Consistent Hard Work and Practice are Key, Says UKZN’s Top Honours Student

Consistent Hard Work and Practice are Key, Says UKZN’s Top Honours Student

The Zac Yacoob Scholarship – named after Judge Zakeria (Zac) Yacoob, a former Constitutional Court judge of distinction and the last Chancellor of the former University of Durban-Westville – was awarded to Mr Aaron Naidu, as the single best honours student at UKZN across all Colleges and Disciplines.

Naidu is currently registered for a BSc Honours degree in Statistics.

The 21-year-old, who lives in Cowies Hill with his mother, Dr Anoshini Moodley; father, Dr Sean Naidu; and younger brother, Jaedon, who is also a high achiever, matriculated from Eden College in 2019 as the top KwaZulu-Natal independent school matriculant, before embarking upon a BSc in Data Science at UKZN, which he completed summa cum laude in 2022.

Naidu describes himself as an avid chess player and big cricket fan.

When it comes to his current honours studies in Statistics, Naidu says that he particularly enjoyed the module on Time Series Analysis, as he found it to be a really interesting demonstration of how statistical techniques can be applied to make predictions about real-world data.

‘It is a huge honour to receive this scholarship, and to be recognised for all the hard work that I put in throughout my bachelor’s degree,’ said Naidu. ‘UKZN offers honours programmes in such a wide variety of fields, so the fact that I was awarded this scholarship as the best of the best across all these disciplines makes me feel extremely privileged.’

Naidu described his May 2023 Graduation ceremony as a highlight of his time at UKZN to date. ‘It was a great experience to receive my undergraduate BSc degree officially as the culmination of three years of hard work,’ he said.

‘First and foremost, thanks must go to God for blessing me with many talents and a nurturing environment in which to hone them,’ said Naidu, who paid tribute to his parents and broader family for always supporting, encouraging and advising him. He also thanked his lecturers and former teachers for their academic guidance.

Naidu had the following advice for his fellow students: ‘Work consistently – if you make sure to understand the work week-by-week without letting it pile up, then exam season becomes so much less stressful. I’d also emphasise that, particularly in the mathematically based subjects that I have been doing, true understanding comes from practising lots of problems, not memorising notes.’

Once his honours degree is finished, Naidu plans either to do a master’s degree overseas or enter the job market.

Said Professor Delia North, former Dean and Head of the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science: ‘Having chosen UKZN, Aaron shone as brightly as he did at school in every possible way. During his undergraduate studies, he achieved in the top 1-3% of every module. What is further noteworthy is that Aaron achieved these outstanding results despite taking six additional modules during his study programme! One would possibly expect this kind of profile from such a gifted student, but what is extraordinary is how humble and grounded this young man is. A remarkable student, outstanding in every way!’

Words: Sally Frost

Photograph: Albert Hirasen