Tied to the mission of equipping leaders with the skills to build a better world through business and tech, the Datathon Competition puts a focus on the real-world. Students are tasked with navigating ambiguity and with taking an open-ended problem and developing a solution with minimal guidance.
Business+Tech’s Datathon Competition is a week-long program where interdisciplinary student teams use data as the primary basis for developing creative solutions to a real-world problem. Despite a team’s academic make-up, all teams compete alongside eachother for the grand prize of $3,000.
Emilee Studley, Business+Tech’s Program Manager, has been involved with the Datathon for two years now. “I love the way Sanjeev has structured the competition. It is such a unique way to work on a problem with a project team, and to lean into ambiguity. We don’t tell you what to do, you have to go and figure it out. Which is very rare after being in the classroom, where you’re given the rulebook, the syllabus and often told what to do.” Sanjeev Kumar, the Faculty Lead of the Datathon Competition, leans into the real-world idea and intentionally keeps the data set a secret up until the competition kickoff when the problem statement and data set are released.
Business+Tech continues to prove ability to attract students from all across campus.
With 267 applicants, a total of 71 more than last year, the 2024 Datathon Competition comprised of 40% from the Ross School of Business and 60% from the College of Engineering, School of Information, and College of Literature, Science, and the Arts combined.
Contributing to this year’s diversity of participants was the strategic partnerships with the School of Information, Michigan Institute for Data Science, and the Ross One-Year Masters program. With these collaborations, Business+Tech dramatically increased the number of School of Information students (383%) and One-Year Master’s students (300%) who applied.
The competition provides a great opportunity for students from diverse areas of study to engage with each other on problems outside of the classroom setting. More often than not, the teams mimic interests, passions, and backgrounds that are similar to what is seen outside the classroom.
New Partnerships, New Growth
Celebrating its seventh year, the Datathon Competition continues to expand. The competition received continued support from Deloitte Consulting, PwC, and Paton Accounting Center and welcomed a new partner, the School of Information Engaged Learning Office. “As co-sponsors of the 2024 Datathon Competition, UMSI seized a remarkable opportunity to foster student engagement with peers across campus,” said Kelly Kowatch, U-M SI Engaged Learning Director, “The event served as an accelerated platform for participants to refine their expertise in problem definition, data analysis, collaboration, data communication, and presentation. Such collaborative initiatives reinforce the School of Information’s commitment to interdisciplinary education and the cultivation of socially conscious information professionals.”
The competition relies heavily on the expertise of alumni and professionals working in data analytics. This year, 43 alumni and practitioners participate in virtual office hours with teams, virtual and in-person networking events, and round 1 judging. The following practitioners judged the competition.
- Alexis Castellano, U-M Institute for Social Research Program Manager – Data Scientist and U-M School of Information Lecturer
- Scott Holcomb, Deloitte Consulting GenAI Transformation Leader
- Eric Ringle, Ross School of Business Lecturer and SOX Subject Matter Expert
- Zach Sachen, PwC Partner – Cloud & Digital
2024 Data Set Theme and Winning Teams
This year’s data set was on greenhouse gas emissions. Of the 22 teams that submitted their presentations, six were chosen to present in front of a panel of judges.
1ST PLACE | TEAM BYTE CLUB
- Makayla Beardsley, Data Science (LSA Senior)
- Nolan Birkeland, Computer Science (LSA Senior)
- Atul Gera, Computer Science (College of Engineering Senior)
- NaveenJohn Premkumar, Computer Science (College of Engineering Senior)
- Julia Spilkin, Data Science (LSA Senior)
- Alan Tommy, Computer Science (College of Engineering Junior)
2ND PLACE | TEAM REPAIR
- Richard Shu, Supply Chain Management (Ross One-year Masters)
- Viktor Solansky, Business Administration (Ross Second-year Masters)
- Amy Sun (LSA Junior)
3RD PLACE | TEAM TWINDATA TITANS
- Manisa Mondal, Business Administration (Ross Second-year Masters)
- Lasya Priya Gulibhi, Business Administration (Ross Second-year Masters)
- Sneha Priya Kannan, Business Administration (Ross First-year Masters)
- Lakshmi Priya Kannan, Business Administration (Ross First-year Masters)
- Reden Tanago, Business Administration (Ross Second-year Masters)
- Tishir Chhaparia, Business Administration (Ross First-year Masters)
Looking Forward: Business+Tech’s Path Ahead
As the 2024 Datathon Competition concludes, Business+Tech is excited to strengthen and grow our programs that are dedicated to equipping future leaders with the skills and insights needed to tackle real-world challenges in business and technology.
Next year’s Datathon Competition will feature a new theme and an even bigger footprint!