2nd Annual DataFest at NC State

The Data Science Academy (DSA) hosted the second annual DataFest at NC State over the  March 31 – April 2 weekend. This interdisciplinary event created a data science community where students and mentors can collaborate on a data science problem for a real client and network during the three-day event.  

Thirty-two undergraduate students from NC State, Meredith College and UNC Charlotte registered for DataFest at NC State to compete and collaborate on a secret dataset provided by the American Statistical Association (ASA). Amongst the eight teams, two teams from Meredith College and one student from UNC Charlotte represented their institutions in this friendly and collaborative competition. Several majors were represented throughout the event creating an opportunity for interdisciplinary work to draw insights from the dataset which was revealed on the first night. 

Throughout the three-day event, DSA  instructors conducted mini workshops for participants to learn more about how to analyze, interpret and present data. In addition, several graduate mentors and faculty members from NC State and Meredith College advised teams as needed.

“I loved the opportunity to explore data analysis with different tools and techniques…”

Julia S., NC State University, Class of 2024

Presentations were judged by faculty members from the NC State Department of Statistics and Meredith College. Each team had a different take on the data provided.

“It was fascinating to see just how many insights can be derived from one dataset and understand the impact they have on the population being represented.”

Wanjiru M., Meredith College, Class of  2024

The event was a fun and collaborative competition. Students were excited by the amount of team work involved in solving a BIG Data set. 

“I really enjoyed how collaborative the event was and how much I learned throughout the weekend.”

Vrishank G., NC State University, Class of 2024

All registered participants presented on Sunday. Students were eager to share the insights they gleaned from the data. Their analysis and data stories were clear, concise and supported by the information in the dataset.

As the DSA continues to grow, we hope DataFest at NC State will continue to bring students together from institutions across the state and from majors across the campuses. 

DataFest at NC State Awards

Award	Team	Team Members	Institution
Data Communication	Not So Standard Deviation	Evan Dadson Nicole Berkin George Katsoulis Ericka Council Fernando Lacerda Grandini	NC State
Data Communication	Stats Club	Olivia Zhang Calvin Chu Ayesha Darekar Edward Cristobal	NC State
Data Visualization	The Famous Four	Mei Li Moo King Mwende Mumo Stephanie Wairagu Kaelyn Coleman	Meredith College
Ethical Data Issues	Rsonists	Rebecca Seifert Jenna Abernethy Aryan Shinde Julia Seidel	NC State
Data Insight	Voracious Visualizers	Emma Brooks Jeannie Hinton  Wanjiru Mambo Salma Emjahhed	Meredith College
Interdisciplinary	Avalanche	Vrishank Ghosh Shlok Dave Samarth Jadia Pranav Chockalingam	NC State
Data Storytelling	Free Agents	Emma Johnson Ashwin Pandey Ashwini Jha Cam Peters	NC State
Wolfpack 2030 Strategic Goals & Values	Team 626	Tyler Southward Saumya Gangwal Zach Richardson Mahesh Bobbadi	NC State

About DataFest

The American Statistical Association (ASA) 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.