Datathon Brings Students to Campus

UTA Libraries held its second annual Datathon, bringing data enthusiasts to compete on campus April 13-14. The 24-hour event tested students' problem-solving skills and analytical knowledge. 

Rubab Shahzad, a Data Visualization Librarian and event coordinator, stated that the Datathon drew interest from people from around the country because of the unique opportunity to learn. 

"Overall, I think that the event went great. We had about 200 people attend the event," Rubab said. "Interest in the event was widespread and well out of Texas. We saw registrations from Purdue University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgia Tech, City University of New York, Arizona State University and others." 

Datathon presented students with realistic data challenges. These challenges involved looking at a question and then collecting, processing, analyzing, and interpreting data to help solve a problem. 

Students who participated in Datathon can also publish their work through UTA Libraries' new online repository and archival hub, MavMatrix. MavMatrix replaces seven previously independent platforms to create a centralized online warehouse for research outcomes and archival materials. 

Students at Datathon could also attend workshops based on data science. Speakers inside and outside of UTA shared their knowledge and professional expertise. 

Ryan Hedrick, a Data Management Librarian, stated that the event successfully connected with students, and they are looking at ways to make it even better next year. 

"Our main goal is always to improve upon what happened last year and I think we did. We had more participants and our challenges were great," Ryan said. "A big takeaway from the event is we will improve our outreach for next year. We will have more sponsors within the industry that students can connect with." 

One of the successes of this year's event was the partnership with Major League Hacking. Datathon received a designation as an official MLH event through the partnership. They also received a $1,000 GitHub Education grant from MLH, which helped with the event's funding. 

Rubab and Ryan thanked everyone from the library staff, faculty, sponsors and partners to the students and speakers who all made this event a success. They look forward to next year's event, which will have more learning opportunities for students. 

Datathon will be returning to campus next year. For the latest information about Datathon, visit the UTA Libraries website or social media channels.