DataFest: A (Competitive) Celebration of Data

• Activity Number: 557
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Education
• Author(s): Johanna Hardin*+ and Robert Gould*+ and Andrew Bray*+ and Herle McGowan*+
• Companies: North Carolina State University and Pomona College and University of California, Los Angeles and University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Keywords: competition ; data science ; student

Abstract

DataFest is an opportunity to expose and excite students about statistics and big data analysis problems. The students have complete autonomy in how to approach the analysis problem which can be exciting as well as intimidating. However, because the stakes are low (e.g., no grades are involved) and the rewards are high (e.g., a win looks fantastic on their resumes!), the students are able to generate risky and creative ideas to solve the problem. The students are also able to engage with people who do statistics and data analysis for a living - people with many diverse backgrounds and knowledge bases. The competition aspect gives the students a goal to shoot for and produces camaraderie among the group members. Most importantly, the students have FUN. In this panel, I will discuss the practical pieces of DataFest and communicate how the different aspects come together to create an experience which cannot be matched through other typical academic or summer experiences.