DataFest 2025
DataFest 2025
ASA DataFest at Northwestern University, hosted by the Department of Statistics and Data Science from April 4–6, 2025, brought together a vibrant community of nearly 80 participants, including:
- 49 undergraduate competitors, forming 13 teams
- 10 mentors, comprising graduate students and early-career data science professionals from industry
- 5 judges, all experienced data scientists from academia and industry with at least five years in the field
- 5 panelists, representing a diverse range of career paths—from history majors to PhDs in data science, and from rising professionals to seasoned experts with decades of experience
- 12 organizing team members, including undergraduate students, department staff, and faculty
The heart of the event was a 48-hour data analytics competition, where students tackled a real-world, open-ended problem using a dataset and prompt provided by the American Statistical Association (ASA). Teams had two days to analyze the data, craft actionable insights, and present their solutions to a panel of expert judges.
In addition to the competition, the event featured:
- A keynote address by Sanchit Tiwari, Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company and Senior Principal at QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, who introduced Kedro, an open-source toolbox for building production-ready data science pipelines.
- A Career Insights & Networking Session sponsored by Capital One
- A Panel Discussion on Careers in Data Science, featuring professionals from a wide range of academic and industry backgrounds
The event was a resounding success, giving undergraduate students the opportunity to:
- Apply their classroom skills to a real-world data challenge
- Receive mentoring and career advice from data science professionals
- Learn from the innovative approaches of their peers and constructive feedback from judges
- Build connections and foster a strong peer community in data science
- Enjoy a dynamic, inspiring, and truly unforgettable weekend
Four teams were recognized with awards: First Place, Second Place, Third Place, and the People’s Choice Award, based on audience votes. Teams were evaluated on the quality of their recommendations, soundness of analysis, clarity of presentation, data visualization, use of external data, and overall creativity. Details on the winning teams and the distinctive aspects of their solutions are available on the DataFest website.