About

About Us

Who We Are

The WITS Old Mutual Insure Risk Lab is a pioneering research laboratory established through a partnership between the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Statistics and Actuarial Science and Old Mutual Insure. We are dedicated to producing impactful research tackling climate risk, infectious disease modelling, and sustainable insurance through advanced statistical and machine learning methods.

Mission
Our Mission
To solve complex risk problems facing African communities and industries through rigorous quantitative research. We develop methods that work in practice, not just in theory, and ensure our findings reach those who can use them.
Vision
Our Vision
An African-led research environment where local expertise shapes global standards in risk assessment. We aim to demonstrate that world-class quantitative research can emerge from and serve the continent.
Values
Our Values
  • Academic Rigour — Maintaining the highest standards in research methodology
  • High Quality Research — Using mostly open-source tools for transparency
  • Open Collaboration — Working across disciplines and institutions
  • Industry Impact — Translating research into practical solutions
  • Capacity Building — Training the next generation of quantitative researchers

Academic Excellence at WITS

Our lab is situated within the School of Statistics and Actuarial Science at WITS, one of the foremost institutions for statistical education in Africa. We combine rigorous academic training with hands-on industry exposure.

  • Postgraduate research supervision at Honours, Masters and PhD level
  • Industry-linked research projects with Old Mutual Insure
  • Workshops and training programmes in R and modern analytics
  • Building accessible computational tools for risk assessment
  • Conference presentations and academic publications
  • Cross-collaboration with international research groups
WITS
University of the Witwatersrand
One of Africa's leading research-intensive universities.
Old Mutual Insure
Old Mutual Insure
A leading insurer in South Africa driving industry innovation.
Our Journey

Lab History

Establishment Establishment

Partnership Foundation

The Risk Lab was established through a strategic partnership between the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Statistics and Actuarial Science and Old Mutual Insure, recognising the need for dedicated research capacity in risk analytics.

Team Growth Team Growth

Building Research Capacity

The lab includes leading researchers, lecturers, postdoctoral fellows, and talented postgraduate students, each contributing unique expertise in statistics, actuarial science, and machine learning.

Current Impact Current Impact

Research & Outreach

Today the lab is building its research programme, with team members actively developing projects in climate risk, health statistics, and spatial modelling. We are growing our network of academic and industry partnerships across South Africa and beyond.