Last week, three Summit staff members traveled to Los Angeles to assist the competitors at DataFest 2013, which is held on UCLA’s campus. The event, developed by Summit Academic Associate Robert Gould, is a competition in which teams must find the most interesting analysis and application of a dataset.
This year, Analysts David Huberman and Mallory Wang joined Senior Manager Amy Deora at the event. DataFest is a continuous 48-hour competition; teams work around the clock and nonstop on their analysis and presentations. This year’s dataset was provided by eHarmony (an online dating service), so teams had to define variables within this unique context. Students used methods ranging from simple descriptive statistics and data visualizations techniques to econometric modeling to examine which characteristics made men and women, whom eHarmony had already judged to be "compatible", more likely to contact each other for a date.
As a part of a sponsoring organization, the Summit staff members in attendance took shifts assisting competitors work towards their major objectives. Ms. Wang noted that her shift (11 pm – 4 am on Saturday) was not a very popular time to assist the students, but the team members appreciated the help.
At the conclusion of the event, each team had one minute to present their findings. Judges convened to decide the more interesting takes on the dataset, and selected finalists to give five-minute, three-slide presentations. In past years, the judges chose winners in three categories: best insight, best visual, and best use of external data. The winning teams hailed from UCLA, Pomona College, and USC.
Our staff returned from their trip with stories that demonstrate how data can be applied in a variety of ways and yield unexpected insight.
For pictures of the event, presentations from the winners, and more information on DataFest 2013 as a whole, visit http://datafest.stat.ucla.edu/.