U.N. Datathon with the ADSN

What do you get when you throw a group of people together who don’t know each other, who come from different backgrounds and disciplines, and give them a tight deadline to solve a difficult and challenging problem?

The answer: The U.N. Datathon, hosted by the Australian Data Science Network (ADSN).

The ADSN hosted seven U.N. Datathon teams over four days (3-6 November) at the QUT Centre for Data Science in Brisbane. An eighth ADSN team competed together at the Melbourne Centre for Data Science.

Rather than having teams of people who already know each other enter the competition, the ADSN asked people to submit individual expressions of interest to take part in the event. The ADSN then took all those EOIs and put together teams of people from different universities and organisations, and with varying level of experience.

One of the main aims of the ADSN is to get different centres and universities talking and working together. On a different scale, that was the goal for the ADSN in creating these teams of people who didn’t know each other – and it appeared to work brilliantly!  After just four days, they left with new friends and new connections, knowing they had come together in a short amount of time to attack a challenging problem. Each of the teams tackled a different U.N. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

The ADSN would especially like to acknowledge the QUT Centre for Data Science and its Director, Distinguished Professor Kerrie Mengersen, for hosting and for financial support of this event. CDS provided travel grants to many of the participants and provided several meals, along with snacks for the whole weekend.

The ADSN hopes to continue doing U.N. Datathon events in the years to come with even more teams!

Highlights of the ADSN Event at the QUT Centre for Data Science in Brisbane

• Friday evening Opening Ceremony and Networking Event at QUT
• Three days of intense problem solving. The Centre was open from 6 am to 11 pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday
• Saturday and Sunday morning brekky BBQs
• Sunday Pizza night
• Hosting teams from all these different universities & organisations
  • QUT Centre for Data Science
  • Melbourne Centre for Data Science & The University of Melbourne
  • Monash Data Futures Institute & Monash University
  • Sydney Precision Data Science Centre & the University of Sydney
  • The University of Adelaide
  • UNSW Data Science Hub & UNSW
  • Western Sydney University
  • NSW Ministry of Health
  • University of Wollongong

Our official video greeting for the U.N. Datathon global opening ceremony