Datathon 2024

UTA Libraries is gearing up for the second annual Datathon event that will take place April 13-14 in Nedderman Hall. The 24-hour event will test students' critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and analytical knowledge. 

Rubab Shahzad, the Data Visualization Librarian and event director, stated that the event will allow students to grow their data science skills. 

“Datathon is a 24-hour event that is focused on data challenges. The event will feature workshops based on data science, and speakers will be from both inside and outside of UTA. We will also have games, food, and swag," Rubab said. "It is a full-day event filled with learning and fun." 

In each data challenge, teams of students could be given data sets or tasked with collecting their own. A problem statement will be given, and they will use that data set to solve it. Points will then be awarded, and the teams with the most points will be awarded prizes. 

Ryan Hedrick, the Data Management Librarian, stated that there would be several workshops leading up to the Datathon event on April 11-12 and the day of the event on April 13. These workshops will be held in Nedderman Hall and the Central Library. 

"The topics of these workshops are pretty wide-ranging, covering subjects like geographic information systems. We will have a student group doing a machine learning workshop presentation," Ryan said. "We will also have an exhibit the week of the Datathon from Special Collections called 'Data Through the Decades.' The exhibit will display older data mediums, such as floppy disks." 

Rubab stated that Datathon is an excellent way to showcase what the university has to offer future and current students in the field of data science. 

"At the library, we are focused on becoming an academic research library, and events like this help entice students to see the campus and learn about what services and programs are offered at UTA, especially those interested in data,” Rubab said. “Most importantly, in terms of the mission of the Libraries being a research library, the solutions that students find to these challenges can result in being part of a published work. We did that last year and had six publications come out of this event." 

Ryan shared Rubab's thoughts about this event, adding that the event sharpens skills used in many career fields. 

"There will be a lot of teamwork involved in these challenges. Not only will it be a good learning experience individually, but you get to expand on team building and working as a larger group," Ryan said. "You also get to see how other people work, and they tackle certain tasks related to analyzing data or working through a data set." 

The sponsors and partners of this event include: 

• Major League Hack 

• Mathworks 

• Wavicle Data Solutions 

• Informs Analytics 

• Students in Computing and Artificial Intelligence 

• The UTA Department of Computer Science and Engineering 

• The UTA College of Business 

• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 

There is no cost for students to attend the event, which is open to college students who are 18 years and older  

To register for the event or learn more information, visit the UTA Libraries website.