University of Mannheim Hosts DataFest 2024
From April 5th to 7th, around 65 students from all over Germany will take part in the 7th DataFest Germany 2024 at the University of Mannheim. The competition, also called “Hackathon”, is organized by the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Mannheim Center for Data Science and organized in cooperation with partners from industry and research.
At DataFest, participants have 48 hours to gain insights from an extensive data set. Data is visualized, analyzed and modeled. The exact details of the data set remain secret until the start of the event. At the end of the event, the students present their results. At the end of the competition, a jury made up of renowned experts from business and science will award prizes in the categories “Best Insight”, “Best Visualization”, “Best Use of Outside Data” and “Best Data Quality Insight”. A team of advisors from the University of Mannheim will assist the students during the competition. In addition, participants have the opportunity to get in touch with potential employers as part of a CareerFair.
In the USA, DataFest™ has been a regular offering of the American Statistical Association (ASA) for several years. The world’s first DataFest took place in 2011 at the University of California. Since then, many other universities have adopted the format. DataFest events now take place worldwide.
DataFest Germany takes place annually – alternately in Mannheim and Munich. It is accompanied by activities from both universities in the field of data science. The University of Mannheim offers the Mannheim Master in Data Science and the International Program for Survey and Data Science. The Elite Master Program Data Science is located at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich.
Since this year, DataFest Germany has been taking place in cooperation with the Competence Center for Data Quality in the Social Sciences ( KODAQS ). KODAQS is a joint project of the University of Mannheim, the LMU Munich and the GESIS – Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences.
The event is also organized in close cooperation with the Social Data Science and AI Lab at the LMU Munich , the research data infrastructure BERD@NFDI and in coordination with the ASA.