Next-Generation Data Scientists Demonstrate Real-World AI Innovation
OTTAWA, ON, August 7, 2025 — MindBridge, the leader in AI-powered financial decision intelligence, is proud to announce the winners of the inaugural Data Science Challenge held in partnership with Carleton University Institute for Data Science (CUIDS). Over an intensive eight-week period, participating students demonstrated creativity, analytical strength, and technical excellence as they worked to uncover financial irregularities using AI and data science.
Launched on May 28 with a lecture by Dr. Aras Kayvan, Senior Data Scientist at MindBridge, on outlier analysis, the competition challenged undergraduate and graduate students in technical disciplines to develop code-based solutions that could detect anomalies within a complex financial dataset, mirroring the work of modern auditors and risk professionals.
Recognizing Outstanding Student Talent
The winning submissions stood out for their strong model performance, creative approach, and clarity in presenting insights. Submissions were scored using a combination of well-established model evaluation metrics and expert assessments by a panel of four judges, including, Dr. Aras Kayvan and Nima Anvari, two senior-level data scientists from MindBridge, and Prof. Sriram Subramanian and Prof. Sreeraman Rajan, two faculty members from Carleton University, ensuring a balance of technical rigor, innovation, and communication excellence.
The 2025 Data Science Challenge winners are:
1st Place: Amin Nabavi – Awarded a MacBook Pro and a guaranteed interview for a paid internship at MindBridge
2nd Place: Mohammad Reza Zarei – Awarded an iPad Pro and a guaranteed interview for a paid internship at MindBridge
3rd Place: Ahmed Elnimah – Awarded an iPad and a guaranteed interview for a paid internship at MindBridge
“We were blown away by the talent and thoughtfulness that came through in these submissions,” said Rachel Kirkham, Chief Technology Officer at MindBridge. “This challenge wasn’t just about building good models—it was about understanding the data, spotting real financial risk, and communicating findings clearly and creatively. These students truly rose to the occasion.”
“This initiative has been a tremendous success for our students,” said Olga Baysal, Director of the Institute for Data Science at Carleton University. “The challenge offered an opportunity to apply data science to an authentic business problem, and the experience of working with industry experts was invaluable. We are proud of the students who participated and especially of those who earned top recognition.”
MindBridge and Carleton University extend their congratulations to the winners and thank all participants for their efforts, energy, and enthusiasm.
About Carleton University
Carleton University is located in Ottawa, Canada. Founded in 1942, Carleton is a dynamic, research-intensive university with a proven commitment to teaching and learning. Carleton offers more than 170 undergraduate and graduate programs across a wide range of disciplines. Carleton’s location in Canada’s capital city gives our students unique opportunities to learn and work in a vibrant, multilingual and multicultural environment. Carleton has an international reputation for excellence in research and teaching, and our faculty are known for their dedication to student success. Learn more at https://carleton.ca/.
About MindBridge Analytics Inc.
MindBridge is the leader in AI-powered financial decision intelligence. The MindBridge platform empowers finance teams to analyze 100% of financial transactions in real time, enabling organizations to detect risk, surface anomalies, and optimize performance with greater speed and accuracy. At the core of the platform is the Central Insights Factory, a proprietary AI engine that transforms complex financial data into trusted, actionable insights. Trusted by auditors, finance leaders, and regulators around the world, MindBridge delivers transparent, explainable AI that strengthens internal controls, enhances compliance, and supports smarter financial decision-making. Learn more at mindbridge.ai.