Datafest Data Challenge at Elon

ASA DataFest™ Data Challege at Elon University is open to all students at Elon University. Graduate students can participate but will be judged separately.

There is no fee to participate.

Students compete in teams of 2 to 5. You may form your own team prior to the event, or you may ask to be placed on a team. We encourage you to create teams of individuals from different disciplines because you will benefit from having team members of diverse backgrounds and skills. Final projects are limited to 3 slides, so make your content count.

NEW FOR 2025 – Two categories of Teams (Novice and Upperclass Divisions)
Teams can sign up in the Novice category if the team consist of all first-year students and sophomores with no competition experience. The upper-class division consists of teams with at least one person who has previously competed in a data competition or at least one junior or senior. Awards will be given in each division.

Registration

Each individual participating in the ASA DataFest™ at Elon must submit a registration. If you form your own team, you may include each member of your team, including the team name on the form. If you have not formed a team, you will have the chance on the registration form to request placement on a team. Registration is limited to the first 40 people and will be open until April 11 at 6pm or until 40 people register! In order to be guaranteed a t-shirt you must register by March 18, 2025.

Register for Datafest Data Challenge 2025!

Preparing for Datafest Data Challenge

Data and Visualization workshops are offered through Data Nexus.

Campus Events


Follow us on social media @DataNexusElon.

Rules

  • At least one member of each team must attend the kickoff event, Friday April 11, 5:30-7pm, Founders Hall Atrium.
  • Before downloading the dataset, you must agree to the terms of use of the data. At the end of the DataFest, delete all data from thumb drives, hard drives, etc. The data are sensitive.
  • Should members of your team drop out at the last minute, you may be merged with another team that is also missing members.
  • There will be friendly mentors assigned to each team. Feel free to ask anything. This is not an exam, but a collaborative competition. Do not expect the mentors to write code for you, do data management, etc. They are available to help point you in the right direction, but you’re responsible for getting there on your own.

Judging and Awards

Each team must present a short 5-minute presentation summarizing their findings to a panel of judges comprised of faculty and professionals from a variety of fields. This year (2025) teams will have a short 5 minute period to answer questions as well. Presentations are judged based on overall success in a specific area. Feedback will be given to each team.

Awards will include Best in Show, Best Data Visualizations, Best Use of Statistical Analysis, and Best Use of Outside Data.