April 18, 2025 - High school or community college students who would like to learn
more about data collection and analysis are invited to a free “Datathon” at (CSUCI) on Saturday, April 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the CSUCI campus.
CSUCI’s first-ever Datathon event is a day designed to help high school and community college students discover the fun side of data analysis. One of the Datathon’s organizers, CSUCI Associate Professor of Mathematics Alona Kryshchenko, stressed that students don’t have to have experience with data or be mathematicians to learn the basics of data analysis.
“We don’t require any preparation or skills,” Kryshchenko said. “They just come and we teach them about data science. After that, the students will participate in a competition in which everybody gets a prize. The goal is not to win, but to gain experience.”
After a little tutoring about basic programming language and a few other basics of data analysis, students will get a collection of data. The kind of data set they get, Kryshchenko said, is a surprise, but she did give an example of a data set she’s used before. In one datathon at another institution, she asked students to analyze data on people who buy cosmetics off Facebook. She asked the datathon participants to analyze the data by putting it through various filters.
“It could be data about sales of certain products,” Kryshchenko said. “How much was sold versus the advertisement, or the results different types of ads produce on Facebook in order to see if certain types of cosmetic ads were more effective than others.”
The other Datathon organizer, CSUCI Assistant Professor of Mathematics Isaac Quintanilla Salinas, hopes the students come away with a basic ability to understand and analyze data as it will be a valuable skill as students continue with their education and eventually join the modern work force.
“In this world we see a lot of data being used,” Salinas said. “And that data needs to be analyzed. Being able to understand large data sets enables us to use that data to make informed decisions.”
Because we are living in a world of big data, having a basic understanding of data analysis will look good on a resume, Salinas said, regardless of what field a student chooses.
Those who attend the Datathon who are interested in learning more about this rapidly-expanding field can also get information about CSUCI’s new Bachelor of Science in Data Science degree, which will be offered beginning in Fall of 2025. Salinas said there has been a lot of interest in the program. He brought fliers about the new degree to Admitted Dolphin Day – an event held recently for those admitted to CSUCI - and there was so much interest that Salinas ran out of fliers.
The Datathon is funded through the California Learning Lab and the Southern California Consortium for Data Science (SCCDS), a consortium of eight universities creating opportunities for students - especially those underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) - to learn more about data science. The consortium was created in response to a nationwide industry need for data scientists, according to the .
Participants will meet in Del Norte Hall Room 1500 at 8:30 am on April 26. Breakfast and lunch will be provided and families are welcome.
to attend Datathon.
The University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs, events and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation, or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the respective area below as soon as possible, but no later than seven (7) business days prior to the event/activity:
CSUCI Students
accommodations@csuci.edu
CSUCI Employees and Members of the Public
angela.portillo@csuci.edu