Datafest is coming to Elon in Spring 2024! (April 19-22)

Elon Datafest Events

What Could Go Wrong? Friday April 19 – Event Kickoff, Hunt Atrium Founders Hall
4:30-5:30pm Keynote Speaker: Cennydd Bowles, AI and Ethics

After a range of embarrassing and sometimes dangerous slip-ups, technology companies have been quick to defend themselves. These impacts weren’t intentional, they argue: they were mere unforeseen side-effects of innovation. Perhaps. But technologists weren’t exactly looking too hard. The industry’s resolute faith in progress has meant the few voices of internal dissent have often gone unheeded. Now a dramatic AI leap forward poses even greater opportunities and dangers. Can technologists anticipate the social and ethical impacts of their work before they occur? And are we ready for what they might find?

5:30-7:00pm Registration, Pizza party, meet your mentor, and Raffle Give Aways!
7:00pm Data Challenge Begins

Saturday April 20
Teams meet to work on Data Challenge, communicate with mentors remotely for assistance.

Sunday April 21
7:00pm Sunday – Team Slide Presentation Submissions are due.

Monday April 22
Concurrent events, Founders Hall.
Founders Hall 121 & 230 – Judging (Team Presentation Order Announced @ 4:30)
Founders Hall 221 – AI Toolfest
Datafest Program

About Datafest Data Challenge

The American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest™ is a celebration of data in which student teams work for a two-day weekend to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex dataset.

Datafest Data Challenge at Elon

ASA DataFest™ Data Challege at Elon University is open to all students at Elon University. Graduate students can participate but will be judged separately.

There is no fee to participate.

Students compete in teams of 2 to 5. You may form your own team prior to the event, or you may ask to be placed on a team. We encourage you to create teams of individuals from different disciplines because you will benefit from having team members of diverse backgrounds and skills. Final projects are limited to 3 slides, so make your content count.

Registration

Each individual participating in the ASA DataFest™ at Elon must submit a registration. If you form your own team, you may include each member of your team, including the team name on the form. If you have not formed a team, you will have the chance on the registration form to request placement on a team. Registration is limited to the first 30 people and will be open until April 19 at 6pm or until 30 people register! In order to be guaranteed a t-shirt you must register by March 22, 2024.

Registration is FULL!

Preparing for Datafest

Data and Visualization workshops are offered through the Elon Center for Organizational Analytics and Data Nexus. More details will be posted soon. Follow us on social media @DataNexusElon.

Rules

  • At least one member of each team must attend the kickoff event, Friday April 19, 5:30-7pm, Founders Hall Atrium.
  • Before downloading the dataset, you must agree to the terms of use of the data. At the end of the DataFest, delete all data from thumb drives, hard drives, etc. The data are sensitive.
  • Should members of your team drop out at the last minute, you may be merged with another team that is also missing members.
  • There will be friendly mentors assigned to each team. Feel free to ask anything. This is not an exam, but a collaborative competition. Do not expect the mentors to write code for you, do data management, etc. They are available to help point you in the right direction, but you’re responsible for getting there on your own.

Judging and Awards

Each team must present a short 5-minute presentation summarizing their findings to a panel of judges comprised of faculty and professionals from a variety of fields. Presentations are judged based on overall success in a specific area. Feedback will be given to each team.

Awards will include Best in Show, Best Data Visualizations, Best Use of Statistical Analysis, and Best Use of Outside Data.