Data science interns in Cape Town will be investigating and tackling the water shortage that has crippled the city, Fin24 reported on Monday.
"The students will be placed in an environment where they will face real world problems, the first being the Cape Town water-shortages, where students will use data science to solve the issue," Explore Data Science Academy founder Shaun Dippnall told the publication.
"The results will then be presented to local government."
In March, City mayor Patricia de Lille, declared the City a disaster zone to accelerate the development of emergency water schemes after level restrictions were implemented.
Explore Data Science Academy will issue one-year internship opportunities set to commence in January 2018.
Telkom's information and communications technology subsidiary, BCX has set aside a R50-million investment towards the 300 free year-long internships, scheduled to take place, over the next three years.
The Explore Data Science Academy's first centre will be opened in Woodstock, Cape Town.
The founders, Dippnall, Dave Strugnell and Aidan Helmbold, are qualified data scientists with actuarial qualifications and experience in lecturing, research and consulting.
Dippnall added that the demand for skills in data science was growing exponentially.
"Data science is being used to solve problems across industries, around the world. There is a massive demand for skills in coding and understanding algorithms,"
There are no restrictions to entry for the one-year course, nor are formal qualifications required. Applicants should be between 17 and 35 years of age and must pass a challenging aptitude test on the academy's website.