The Datathon ‘problem to solve’ and data sets will be revealed on the kick off weekend, but the theme of the event is ‘Transforming Decision Making’.

We will be looking for teams to use the provided datasets to explore both government and private sector opportunities to use data to drive:
a) Increased productivity outcomes for business and government
b) Innovative problem solving approaches to well-known business problems across industries

Yes. The data contributors will provide an overview of the data structure and also a data dictionary but not much else will be revealed. It is up to your team to analyse data and generate insights.

Yes, as long as it is publicly available and the sources are specified.

MBS has partnered with SAS and Data Republic to ensure that your team has the best tools for the job!

All data will remain on Data Republic’s ‘data science workspace’ which you will access via the internet for the duration of the Datathon. No data will be able to be pulled onto your computers. Through the Data Republic platform and SAS analytics solutions you will also be able to use open source software like R and Python and also Excel.

You can access the platform and data right through to submission day on Thursday 6th July, and then up until the Final if you make it all the way through.

Registrations are only open to teams of 3-6 participants for several reasons. Firstly, Analytics used to identify business insights are rarely performed in isolation, so we believe team work is essential. Secondly, deeper insights should be identified through team work as the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

You must pre-form teams and register before the event. Give thought to your team name because if you make the finals, this team name will be displayed to judges and an audience of 350-400+ people.

The mission of MBS’ Centre for Business Analytics is to ‘Transform decision making through business analytics’ so the judging criteria will be focused on both generating valuable and actionable insights through analytics, and also effectively communicating those insights to influence decision-making.

There will be a judge from Melbourne Business School, SAS, Data Republic and a further 1-2 data contributors.

Application and participation in the Datathon is free! There is a total of $25,000 in prize money. The top student-only team will be awarded $5,000. The open first prize is $12,500. Second prize is $5,000 and third prize is $2,500. To be eligible to win the student-only prize, all team members must provide student numbers to register, and student cards need to visualised (no exceptions).

No, the Datathon is open to people of all skill sets and capabilities, but it would be advised to have strong analytics capability in your team to generate the insights.

To be eligible to enter and win the Datathon, all registered teams must attend the kick-off weekend to:
a) Obtain the data on Saturday morning 1st July; and
b) Discuss initial findings with judges at 12 noon on Sunday 2nd July.

If your team is selected as a finalist, you will need to pitch in front of judging panel and audience at the MBS Business Analytics Conference on Thursday 13th July.

You can only enter teams of 3-6 participants. You can only be a member of one team. You can’t enlist any help from anyone outside your team. To be eligible to win the student-only prize, all team members must provide student numbers to register, and valid student cards need to visualised (no exceptions). Teams from data contributors and sponsors are not eligible to win prize money, although they are eligible to be selected as finalists.

Your own laptop (and don’t forget your power cord/charger) as well as any toiletries you may need (toothbrush, deodorant etc).

You don’t need to stay all night at the Datathon venue if you don’t want to. But to be eligible to be a finalist you do need to be present between 9am-12.30pm Saturday 1st July to receive data sets, instructions and the challenge, and also on Sunday July 2nd from 12 noon – 3pm for the first round of judging and final instructions. There will be mentors available all night to assist you onsite at the Datathon.

You will be well fed and hydrated throughout!

SAS’ industry recognised, open source integrated analytics platform, SAS Viya will be available to the Datathon participants, including; SAS Visual Analytics, SAS Visual Statistics & SAS Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning

The SAS Viya virtual learning environment can be accessed from http://support.sas.com/training/elearn/access.html.

Yes, An activation code will be emailed to you once your application to participate in the Datathon has been confirmed

The virtual learning environment includes SAS Visual Analytics 8.1 on SAS Viya, Transitioning from SAS 9 to SAS Viya, Data Mining & Machine Learning on SAS Viya & SAS Viya Analytics Workshop training

Access to SAS Viya will be provided through the Datathon platform. Access details will be provided once your application to participate in the Datathon has been confirmed.

SAS recommends you look at the following online tutorials: http://support.sas.com/training/tutorial/global.html – There are nearly 200 available tutorials which are suitable for people new to SAS. You can also review the appropriate learning path to start your learning journey (http://www.sas.com/offices/asiapacific/sp/training/paths/).

The SAS University edition provides free access to individuals using SAS for learning purposes for non-commercial use only. Refer to the following website: https://www.sas.com/en_us/software/university-edition.html

The SAS Academic Program Student site (https://www.sas.com/en_us/learn/academic-programs/students.html) provides further information about how SAS supports students.

Yes – you can join the SAS Analytics U Community (https://www.sas.com/en_us/learn/academic-programs/resources/sas-university-community.html).

Melbourne Business School offers a Master of Business Analytics (https://mbs.edu/education-development/degreeprograms/masterofbusinessanalytics), where you will learn SAS and receive a Certificate in Business Analytics from SAS in recognition of your skill in using its world-leading analytics software.