An NSF-funded research project allowed the authors to examine six DataFest sites over two years, surveying and interviewing both organizers and participants to understand their motivations, goals, and challenges.
DATAFEST
Who Is DataFest For?
Surveys and interviews at six DataFest sites revealed what drives students to participate in the event–it was whether the students felt the event was “for me.”
Spending the Weekend with Data: The Appeal of DataFest for Students
What draws students to DataFest, where they tackle messy, real-world data sets during an intense, collaborative weekend?
DATA: The Engine That Drives DataFest
Rob Gould and Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel share their decade-plus journey of sourcing, cleaning, and crafting the real-world data challenges that make DataFest such a unique experience.
Mutual Benefits of Data Sharing: Insights from CourseKata and Savills
Who provides the data that fuels student projects—and what do they gain in return? Here, representatives from CourseKata and Savills Workplace Studio share why they chose to donate their data and how the experience shaped both their work and their perspective.
DataFest for Two-Year Colleges
In 2022, Rebecca Wong and Rachel Saidi created a virtual DataFest exclusively for two-year colleges so students from across the country can participate in a collaborative, weekend-long data challenge.
Judging DataFest: Insights from the Other Side of the Table
We caught up with Michael Sarkis, a data science manager at 2nd Order Solutions and returning DataFest judge, to hear what keeps him coming back year after year.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: The Leeds-Pretoria-Wits DataFest Hackathons
Pierre-Philippe Dechant shares the story behind International DataFest—how it came to be and the lessons learned from organizing it.
A Point of View: Five Colleges
As a DataFest host, Ben Baumer from Five Colleges reflects on what makes DataFest so valuable—from student creativity to community building.
A Point of View: Purdue University
As DataFest hosts, Mark Daniel Ward and Fulya Gökalp Yavuz from Purdue University discuss the surprises students find in working with real-world data during DataFest.