Event Information

The inaugural ASA DataFest at Kansas State University will take place on April 25-27, 2025 in Room 1092 of the College of Business Administration Building on the Manhattan campus of Kansas State University. There is no fee to participate.

This undergraduate competition collaborates with a secret data donor to provide teams of undergraduates with a rich and complex dataset to gain insights into a real-world problem. Teams of three to five students have the three-day weekend to analyze the dataset and assemble a five-minute presentation with three slides about their findings for judges on Sunday.

Students from all fields of study and skill levels are welcome to participate, including (but not limited to) engineering, math, computer science, statistics, biological sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and business. There will be training workshops on various data analysis software systems during the event, giving additional training on how to use programs such as R and Python.

Registration

There are two ways to register.

Single undergraduate students can sign up individually and be assigned to a team.
Team of three to five undergraduate students can sign up as a team. The team captain should register the team on one form.

Once you have determined how you wish to sign up, fill out the registration form. Registration this year will be limited to 50 total students, so be sure to sign up your team soon!

During the Event

Friendly Mentors will be available throughout the weekend to help you as you work through the data. Make sure to follow us on social media to stay informed on the latest updates and for the chance to win prizes!

Students do not need to be present the entire weekend to participate. You may come and go as you please, but the event room will be open the majority of the weekend if you wish to remain on site. We ask that all competitors be present for the event kick-off on Friday and for the presentations and award ceremony on Sunday. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks will be provided throughout the weekend.

Rules

Teams must be comprised of no fewer than three and no more than five undergraduate students enrolled in a degree or certificate program at Kansas State University.
Should members of your team drop out at the last minute, you may be merged with another team that is also missing members.
Before downloading the dataset, you must read the Proprietary Data statement. At the end of DataFest, delete all data from personal storage media as they are sensitive.
Feel free to ask the Consultants anything. However, don't expect them to write code or recommend specific methods. They are there to help point you in the right direction, but you’re responsible for getting there on your own!
This is not an exam, but a collaborative competition.
All project work should be completed on premises.

Judging

Each team will present a five-minute summary of their findings to a panel of judges comprised of faculty and data professionals from a variety of fields. Presentations will be evaluated based on creativity, insight, visualization, and communication. There will be awards for four prize categories, including "Best in Show", "Best Insight", "Best Visualization" and the "Judges Pick".

Each team will have five minutes to present their findings to the judges. This time limit will be strictly enforced.
Each team will be allowed a maximum of three slides. Just three! At some point on Sunday, teams should set aside time to consider what you want the judges to know about your project and to prepare presentations.
Your presentation slides must be emailed to id3a@ksu.edu no later than 12:30 pm on Sunday. Allowed formats include PDF and PowerPoint. If you choose to use web-based tool like Google Docs or Prezi, please export your presentation as a PDF files as your submission. Team members will not have time log on/off to their various accounts during the presentation session.
All team members should be present for the presentation, but not all team members are required to speak.