The DataJam

The DataJam is a nonprofit organization that was formed by software scientists from industry and academicians working in data science at universities to work together to develop and run a competition that inspires high school youth to enter the field of big data science. The DataJam is an academic competition for high school students and afterschool programs which focuses on teaching about the use of big data to answer a research question. The DataJam teams often have 5-7 students who formulate a research question, find publicly available data sets, analyze their data, make data visualizations, and present their findings to a panel of judges. Students learn skills pertaining to the scientific method, data analysis, and how to give scientific presentations. The DataJam teams are mentored by university students with training in data science and mentoring skills. The DataJam expanded and is now available to high school students throughout the country, mentoring is offered by videoconference, and a wide array of resources are available on the TheDataJam.org website. The DataJam Advisory Board Judy Cameron, Ph.D. - Director Pittsburgh DataWorks; Professor University of Pittsburgh Brian Macdonald - Chair Advisory Board, Data Scientist helping Fortune 500 companies to optimize business outcomes by leveraging data Beth Bauer - Founder and CEO of PosiROI, a consulting firm helping maximize business outcomes through a strategic use of data in the hands of people Cheryl Begandy - Retired - Director, Education, Outreach and Training at the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center Catherine Cramer - Director, Outreach and Engagement, San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego, with a focus on underserved communities Devashish Saxena - Chief Digital Officer Imperial Dade Beth Schwanke - Executive Director Pitt Cyber Institute Raja Sooriamurthi, Ph.D. - Teaching Professor Information Systems, Carnegie Mellon University