DataFest™

DSci (and previously QTM) has hosted DataFest^TM at Emory since 2018. DataFest is a celebration of data in which teams of undergraduates work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex data set.

DataFest began at UCLA in 2011.  By analyzing five years worth of arrest records provided by Lt. Thomas Zak of the Los Angeles Police Department, 30 students spent 48 concentrated hours to provide insights to help reduce the crime rate. DataFest is now sponsored by the American Statistical Association, and more than 2000 students take part from schools such as Emory, UCLA, Pomona College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Riverside, University of Southern California, Purdue University, Duke, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Princeton, Dartmouth, Smith, Hampshire, Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, and the University of Massachusetts.

A key feature of DataFest is that it gathers together the data science community. Undergraduate students do the work, but they are assisted by in-house consultants who are graduate students, faculty, and industry professionals. 

After two days of intense data wrangling, analysis, and presentation design, each team is allowed a few minutes and no more than two slides to impress a panel of judges. Prizes are given for Best in Show, Best Visualization, and Best Use of External Data.