Introduction
At Manifold Data Mining, we are passionate about solving complex problems with the help of data. That’s why we are always eager to support the next generation of data talent. A few months ago, our team had the privilege of partnering with the University of Toronto’s Department of Statistical Sciences for DataFest 2026. In addition to sponsoring this event, members of our team acted as industry judges.
Our Back-end Development Manager, Mehrnoush Divsalar, evaluated the submissions. Through this judging process, we experienced firsthand the incredible innovation of today’s students.
As part of the grand prize for the team that took home the “Best Insight” award, we promised an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of our office in Toronto. On June 25th, we had the absolute pleasure of fulfilling our promise when we welcomed Jayathra Abeywarna to Manifold.
Manifold Data Mining Founder Dr. Zhen Mei welcoming DataFest winner Jayathra Abeywarna to office for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour.
The Winning Solution at DataFest
Jayathra shared more about this event with the rest of our team during his visit. During this high-intensity hackathon, student teams were given a massive dataset that contained millions of anonymized healthcare encounter records provided by Stormont Vail Health. Their objective was to map out patient journeys and find a way for health administrators to improve the efficiency of patient care.
Jayathra joined forces with three peers he had never met before to form Team Blues Data. He and his teammates, Ian, Ryan, and Yiding, only had a short window of time to dissect millions of rows of data. They decided to narrow their focus to a critical bottleneck: the extreme gaps in care. This was especially evident among cancer patients. These patients would often go 365+ days without seeing a doctor for routine or specialized treatment.
The team decided to use scatterplots to highlight the most extreme outlier cases. They uncovered a striking pattern. The longest processing times weren’t just a byproduct of clinical delays; socioeconomic forces heavily influenced them. Team Blues Data discovered that the long gaps were often linked with income levels and a lack of reliable transportation.
Instead of proposing a theoretical or highly complex mathematical fix, this team engineered a readily implementable solution. They proposed government-subsidized rideshare partnerships (such as Uber or Lyft) tailored to low-income patients. It was this seamless bridge between deep statistical analysis and real-world empathy that won them the Best Insight award.
Celebrating innovation: Manifold’s Mehrnoush Divsalar with the DataFest 2026 ‘Best Insight’ winners, Team Blues Data (Jayathra, Ian, Ryan, and Yiding).
Jayathra Abeywarna: An Inspiring Journey
Hosting Jayathra at our office gave us a chance to learn more about his unique path. He originally started in Actuarial Science at U of T where he also played varsity rugby. Driven by a strong entrepreneurial spirit, he has co-founded multiple startups and is actively working on building another venture today.
What stood out to us the most about Jayathra was his vision for the future. He originally started his undergraduate journey in 2012. Instead of sticking to the traditional path, and rushing through his 4-year degree, he decided to step away from academia. He then spent multiple years in the tech and startup world, building companies like Feed Back (food waste mitigation) and Nirvah (protective tech workwear). He has kept his ties with U of T throughout these years through various courses, as well as multiple case competitions. Now, over a decade later, he has won DataFest and is looking ahead to a potential five-year PhD program to solve the exact real-world problems he witnessed while running his businesses.
A Passion Project with Global Impact
During his trips back home to Sri Lanka, Jayathra realized just how much undiscovered talent there is around the world. He spent some time teaching young students and realized how much of their brilliance is being wasted simply because English is not their native language. While they possessed impressive mathematical skills, they struggled to learn coding due to the language barrier.
Jayathra reached out to a professor at U of T and shared his thoughts. His professor expressed strong interest in working on this thesis with him starting in September. Jayathra plans to work with local foundations in Sri Lanka, and aims to launch a 4–8-month research incubator. His objective is to provide the resources and mentorship needed to bypass language barriers. His biggest goal is to be able to translate raw mathematical talent into impactful, financially viable research.
Jayathra has decided to start with this research period and depending on how it goes, he might complete a 5-year PhD program afterwards.
The Power of Perspective Beyond DataFest
At Manifold, we spend our days analyzing granular demographic, financial, and behavioural data to help organizations make precise decisions. Seeing innovators like Jayathra apply his decade of startup experience to champion healthcare accessibility and global educational equity aligns perfectly with our beliefs: Data is at its best when it improves people’s lives.
It was an honour hosting Jayathra, and we have no doubt his upcoming research and startup ventures will change the lives of many. Congratulations again to Team Blues Data! Thank you to the U of T Statistical Sciences department for letting us be a part of such an inspiring DataFest event!