DataFest

The American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest at Ohio State is a collaborative competition where undergraduate students from around the university gather to tackle a data analysis challenge that is typically beyond the scope of what has been encountered in the classroom. DataFest is hosted by the Department of Statistics and the undergraduate Data Analytics major. Goals of the event are (1) to expose students to real-world data challenges, (2) to build excitement among students about statistics and data science and analytics, and (3) to promote collaboration and networking within the data science community and to strengthen ties between the university and potential employers. To promote such collaboration, DataFest develops corporate partnerships where industry professionals who regularly analyze data are invited to participate as mentors to work with students over the course of the weekend. Our students benefit from interaction with these industry leaders, and our corporate partners benefit from learning about the skills and abilities our students are developing at Ohio State. DataFest also enhances connections with alumni, as many of our past mentors have been graduates of the university. This annual event impacts around 150 undergraduate students and 25 mentors from our corporate sponsors and is supported financially through donations from our corporate sponsors.