Welcome to The DataJam!
Empowering Youth in Data Science Education
At The DataJam, we're passionate about fostering the next generation of data scientists. Our mission is to engage middle school, high school and community college students in the exciting world of big data and data fluency, preparing them to thrive in a data-driven society. The DataJam is dedicated to developing new strategies for engaging these students in the field of big data and data science to encourage them to participate fully in a data-driven world!
Annual DataJam Competition
Join our annual DataJam competition and embark on a journey of discovery! Teams of middle school, high school and community college students explore real-world questions using publicly available datasets, guided by college student mentors. Experience the thrill of data analysis and present your findings at our DataJam finale held at the end of April each year. In the last two years we have expanded our use of videoconferencing for holding workshops, mentoring and even for the DataJam finale. Participation from across the United States is increasing rapidly!
Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald viewing posters at the DataJam Finale
Modularized Data Science Curriculum
Access our modular curriculum of hands-on activities designed to make data science engaging and accessible for all. Developed by a team of educators and university professors, these resources are perfect for middle school, high school and even community college classrooms.
A Walkthrough of The DataJam Website:
This video will give you a guided tour through the website. It is an easy way to quickly find out what resources we have and where on the website you can locate them.
Data Dialogs
Data Dialogs are engaging interviews with members of the DataJam community (high school and community college students participating in the DataJam, high school teachers and community college faculty serving as DataJam Team Advisors, DataJam Mentors, and academic and business partners who serve as DataJam Judges) to find out their perspectives on what impact they believe DataJam participation has on individuals and on the long-term well-being of communities that support DataJam teams.
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Fuel the future of data science in middle schools, high schools and community colleges! Your support helps ensure engaging data science education. The DataJam is a nonprofit organization that is run by volunteers and is solely supported by donations.
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DataJam News
DataJam Presents at the Academic Data Science Alliance (ADSA) Meeting
October 29-31, 2024
The Academic Data Science Alliance is a professional association for academic data science leaders, researchers and educators to connect and share their data-intensive approaches and responsible applications in data science with each other. Their annual meeting this year was held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI October 29-31, 2024.
DataJam ran a workshop in “Data Science Experiential Pathways: Scalable Intersegmental Workforce Training Program” focusing on the pilot program DataJam ran during Spring 2024 in Northern California offering DataJam at the Community College level. Judy Cameron, Executive Director of The DataJam, gave an overview of how the DataJam works. Luella Fu, Associate Professor of Statistics at San Francisco State University, spoke about offering DataJam Mentor training to undergraduate students at SFSU. Kyla Oh, a Math Instructor at Laney College in Oakland, CA spoke about offering the DataJam to her students at Laney College. Denise Hum, a professor of Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA), at Skyline spoke about running the DataJam at Skyline College. Anthony Suen, recent director of the Data Discovery program at UC Berkeley, provided a wrap up of the session speaking about lessons learned to experiential learning of data science.
Judy Cameron pointed out that key features of the DataJam that make it particularly popular are (1) that students choose their own research topic, (2) DataJam mentors are available, and (3) teams have the opportunity to interface with data scientists who serve as judges and offer field trips.
Denise Hum noted that her students learned new technical and presentation skills and had a number of networking opportunities.
Anthony Suen talked about the fact that experiential learning opportunities such as The DataJam are beginning to offer students a vibrant ecosystem for learning data science where they can meet others interested in data science and have the opportunity to showcase their work.
THANK YOU, Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute in Cambridge, MA!
October 30, 2024
It’s only our second year in Boston. We’re already making friends – and none of us can get enough data talk!
We were delighted for one of our DataJam Boston teams to harness the opportunity to meet with Data Scientists at the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute in Cambridge, MA this October. We are extremely grateful for the persistent and patient efforts of Piper Trelstad, Head of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls, Kenneth Tripp, Statistics Lead in Biostatistics and Data Science, and Denise Morad, all at Gates MRI; Yunge Xiao, MS Epidemiology candidate at Harvard and The DataJam Fellow for Boston outreach; Carter Hempleman and William Fleming, Teachers and DataJam coaches at Boston’s Brooke Charter Schools; and Beth Bauer, VP of The DataJam and CEO of PosiROI, for coordinating this interactive and outstanding day of sharing ideas, curiosity, and all of us geeking out on data!
“The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and effective use of novel biomedical interventions addressing substantial global health concerns, for which investment incentives are limited.”
After a brief intro across our three teams and a basic overview of The DataJam competition and mentor programs, we learned about the Gates MRI mission and the different types of data science happening at Gates MRI. Then we launched into the data science of medicine. Gates MRI data scientists created interactive stations for us. Our DataJam team and educators sat with the data scientists to dive into and probe the cornucopia of data, analytics and computation needed for safe medicine creation. From CMC Process Control to Data Analytics and Data Science to ClinTech Innovations to Collection, Analysis and Reporting, each station was simply outstanding and enlightening!
How do we know this was a successful visit? Well, we intended to have students switch stations every 10-12 minutes – but we often could not get the seasoned and budding data experts to stop sharing and questioning each other – even when there was pizza, chicken, salad and cookie pie waiting!
Gates MRI kindly provided a tour of their state-of-the-art hybrid work facility. Ergonomic stand/sit desks, meditation and health rooms, a gym, and an international library were big hits with our Brooke Charter School students and teachers, as well as our DataJam Leaders!
Brooke Charter School DataJam students spent several hours exploring the impact of data science in real life. They dove into the data insights and management needed to inform Drug Discovery, Chemical Manufacturing, Clinical Efficacy / Safety and Commercialization of medicine. We saw the tools-in-action and engaged in deep conversations about how data informs decision making across Gates MRI.
Special thanks go to the Gates MRI data scientists (from a variety of areas) who created these engaging and informative stations, where we discussed the various data activities that make a medicine company (and a DataJam visit!) highly successful. THANK YOU to Kenneth Tripp, Chris O’Dea, Mike Shaffer, Peter Cheslock, Rene Thompson, Scott Duncan, Summer Tompkins, Sunil Joseph, Jeff Kustra, Casey Trafton, and Marvin Jones! Extra thanks to Nancy Greene, Agata Gojzewska and Denise Morad for helping with the logistics of the visit. And, of course, we are so very grateful to Piper Trelstad for making this visit possible.
At the end of our tour, one of our students asked, “so you do this type of group tour regularly, right?”, and Piper’s answer was “no, you are our first”. Our DataJam student glowed with pride. Every organization we know needs people just like our DataJam students, living right in their community, to become enthusiastic about data informing their understanding of how the world works. Meeting face to face is an impactful way to do that.
Site visits play a crucial role in raising awareness about the diverse roles in corporations and across industries. Awareness then sparks inspiration in young minds, as they envision themselves within these cutting-edge facilities and exploring opportunities. This is how we fuel the talent pipeline!
Let us know if you’d like to inspire young students to start Jamming with Data at The DataJam – either as a team or a corporate partner!
Once again, we express our sincere gratitude to Piper Trelstad, Kenneth Tripp, and the data scientists at Gates MRI for hosting The DataJam’s Brooke Charter School team! We hope for the privilege of a return visit in the not-too-distant future.
Thank you, Gates MRI!
Where Are They Now? Lets Catch Up with Louise Hicks – past DataJam Mentor
October 11, 2024
My name is Louise Hicks and I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a double major in Biological Sciences and Political Science. I was first exposed to the idea of big data and computation while working for the Joglekar lab at the Department of Immunology here at Pitt. Through this, I realized how useful data analytics could be to understanding the world around us. Being a DataJam Mentor in the DataJam program gave me the opportunity to meet many wonderful students who were eager to learn more about the use of big data and about the impact it has on their own lives. I assisted as my teams completed projects on everything ranging from trends in pH values in a river near them to investigating the relationship between usage of bike rideshare programs and obesity rates in cities across the US.
Following my graduation from Pitt in 2022, I began working at a software company called Starfish Storage. Starfish is a boutique software application that is used for indexing and managing unstructured research data. Throughout the course of the two years I spent at Starfish, I was able to learn about the exciting field of high-performance computing and how it aids in the research being done at the world’s top universities and research hospitals.
Now, I am embarking on a new journey. I am a few months into my first year at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. What has struck me already during my time thus far in medical school is the sheer emphasis on data and on how the evolving methods of data analysis and interaction are driving changes in the medical field. It is a required part of our medical school curriculum to learn about methods of experimentation, data collection, and data analysis. I am thankful for the experiences I’ve had through DataJam because it's taught me about the importance of using big data in an ethical and measured manner. It’s also taught me and many others that data can be used to benefit our communities and to enact change whether it's in the medical field or elsewhere.
I believe the power of DataJam is that it allows students to explore their own interests and it provides a place for all to come and learn, no matter their career aspirations. As I embark on my journey to become a data-driven physician, I will never forget about the invaluable experiences I had with DataJam along the way.
Community College DataJam Proposal Deadline Extended
September 23, 2024
We are excited to announce that the proposal submission deadline for the Community College DataJam has been extended to Friday, October 11th. We understand that many colleges are just getting started and want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate.
Please reach out to datajam@thedatajam.org for any assistance regarding your DataJam project!
Pitt Honors College Awards Fellowships to DataJam Mentors
September 17, 2024
The Frederick Honors College at the University of Pittsburgh awarded two DataJam mentors fellowships this summer to expand the resources available to DataJam teams throughout the world. Read more in the news article posted this week on the Frederick Honors College website.
Sarah Sirakos created two DataSet Guides for the first international DataJam teams, participating in The DataJam in Jordan, in the spring and summer of 2024. The first guide is “Asking Questions about Climate Change in Jordan”. The second guide is “Health and Climate Change in Jordan”.
Zac Lindquist helped The DataJam research and recruit new high schools and community colleges to participate in The DataJam in rural New York, and helped evaluate what resources will be needed to spread The DataJam to rural communities across the coutry.
Ten Years of Introducing Youth to the Power of Data Science (2014-2024)
August 14, 2024
Read about the impact The DataJam has had on individuals who have participated (students, teachers, mentors), communities (schools, school districts, colleges & universities, business partners), and future data scientists! Track the national and international expansion of The DataJam, and learn about the ongoing activities that are strengthening The DataJam Community. The DataJam is impacting Access to Digital Skills for a wide diversity of youth. Learn how we hope to extend our mission “To grow communities of learners who use data, analysis, and critical thinking skills to better understand and impact the world around us” in the next ten years!
2024 National Workshop on Data Science Education
June 28, 2024
The 2024 National Workshop on Data Science Education held at the University of California at Berkeley on Friday, June 28, 2024 was organized by UC Berkeley’s Data Science Undergraduate Studies program with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) West Big Data Innovation Hub and the California Learning Lab. DataJam was proud to present at this conference for educators from high schools, community colleges, colleges and universities, for a second year in a row. Three presentations about the DataJam, as well as reflections from five students who had participated in the DataJam were a large part of the “Discovery Project Based Learning” panel on Friday morning.
Dr. Judy Cameron, Executive Director of the DataJam, gave an overview of how DataJam works for both High School teams and for Community College teams. She also talked about two factors which have made DataJam a very popular data science learning experience: (1) students have the opportunity to choose the topic they want to study so they can focus on what most interests them, and (2) DataJam teams receive individualized mentoring on how to write a proposal, undertake data analysis and prepare their poster and slide presentations. Dr. Luella Fu, Assistant Professor at San Francisco State University spoke about how she had partnered with the University of Pittsburgh is past academic year to offer DataJam Mentor training to San Francisco State students. Dr. Kyla Oh, a Math Instructor at Laney College in Oakland, CA spoke about the participation of her students in the first pilot Community College DataJam in the Spring of 2024.
Reflections on the DataJam experience were given by five students who participated in DataJam 2024. Vaishnavi Akella, on the team from San Ramon High School in Dublin, CA who won first place in the High School DataJam, and Yuting Duan, on the team from Skyline College in San Bruno, CA who won first place in the Community College DataJam, could not be at the meeting but videoclips were played from their recorded interviews for our new feature, Data Dialogs, available on the Home Page of the DataJam website. Three of Yuting’s teammates, Pan Cho Thu, Amapla Garcia and Eden Huang were able to attend the meeting and speak in person about the value they found in participating in the DataJam.
Many questions about DataJam came from the audience during the panel discussion, and we hope that the presentations at this meeting will result in many more high schools and community colleges who attended the meeting participating in DataJam 2025!
Students from the winning team of Community College DataJam
Jordanian High School Students Pioneer Climate Change Solutions in First-Ever Jordanian DataJam
June 23, 2024
The final ceremony of the Jordanian edition of the DataJam, held at Bushra Secondary Comprehensive School in Irbid, Jordan, concluded with an awards ceremony on June 23, 2024, honoring the innovative solutions proposed by Jordanian high school students to mitigate the effects of climate change. The Jordanian DataJam was managed by the Global Center on Climate Change, Water, Energy, Food, and Health (GC3WEFH) for the Middle East and North Africa Region and implemented in Jordan by Climate Action Network Jordan (CAN). The Jordanian DataJam was organized in cooperation with the Jordan Ministry of Education, the Adaptation Fund, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Jordan and UNICEF Jordan. The competition emphasized environmental education through the use of databases to answer research questions related to climate change and environmental challenges. The DataJam in Jordan was coordinated by Engineer Alham Al-Shurafat and her assistants, Engineer Hamza Abu Saleek and Engineer Ola Daoud, along with other staff members from CAN.
Eighteen teams from public schools across Jordan participated in the Jordanian DataJam that lasted from January 2024 to June 2024. In the first two months of the competition teams received a series of training sessions focusing on data collection, management and data analysis. Most of the resources used in these training sessions came from the DataJam website, thedatajam.org, and were translated into Arabic by the Jordanian team coordinating the DataJam in Jordan. In May the top 6 projects, evaluated by judges in Jordan, presented their projects in oral slide presentations to DataJam judges in the United States, with translation of Arabic to English provided. First place went to the Bushra Secondary School Team, second place went to the Hai Dubbat School Team and third place to the Khanssa School Team.
A Dataset Guide was developed by a DataJam Mentor at the University of Pittsburgh, Sarah Sirakos, who received a Frederick Honors College fellowship to develop a guide about the impact of climate change in Jordan, guiding students on how to use publicly available datasets in Jordan made available by The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (the official Jordanian e-Government website), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs SDG Indicators Database, and datasets available through CLIMATEWATCH. Using these and other databases the DataJam teams analyzed problems such as the effect of rainfall on school absence rates, the impact of rising temperatures on stray dog bites, the relationship between climate change and high blood pressure, the connection between air pollution and increased deaths, and the influence of temperature on tourism.
Engineer Al-Shurafat highlighted the competition as a unique opportunity for Jordanian students to understand data analysis and connect data with their daily lives in a country that faces large impacts from climate change. She emphasized the significance of such a project in helping the youth value data and its importance in finding community and nature-based solutions for problems related to climate change. DataJam was honored to participate in this unique international effort to educate the world’s youth about how to make good use of data to solve pressing problems the world will face in decades to come.
Awards Ceremony – DataJam Jordan 2024
Arizona Educators Learn about DataJam
June 17, 2024
The University of Arizona’s Data Sciences Academy (DSA), Educators in Data Science (EDSci) Fellowship welcomed twenty K-14 educators from across the state of Arizona for a week of professional development in Phoenix, AZ, the week of June 17th. The aim for this PD week? To train classroom teachers in data science integration. From kindergarten to community college, this year’s EDSci Fellows were able to find connections from their existing curriculum to ideas for students to work with data to answer the student’s own questions. Early in the week the EDSci Fellows heard a presentation about the DataJam that included an overview how the High School and Community College DataJam’s are structured, the value of DataJam Mentors, and the resources freely available on the DataJam website. However, the presentation was also customized for the DSA to target K-5 teachers interests in how to start introducing students to the value of collecting data to help decide what is offered in the school cafeteria or what art projects are done in classes. And a hands-on activity for the teachers after the presentation had the teachers work in groups to come up with a “mock proposal for a DataJam project” that would work in their class setting. An example of an idea generated in this session included planning to host a Middle School DataJam Day in the Tucson Unified School District.
Another idea that grew out of working with the DSA on the EDSci Professional Development week was to have the University of Arizona collaborate with DataJam by offering a DataJam Mentor training course, that is taught annually by DataJam, in order to train local DataJam mentors in Arizona.
The DSA has taken the point of view that teachers, with sufficient support, will build a community of practitioners who will support each other in charting a way of incorporating data driven discovery in their classrooms. Conversations quickly spanned the grades with, for example, the kindergarten teachers spending time with the community college instructors and sharing ideas. The DataJam was an excellent source of inspiration and a huge resource for our EDSci Fellows as they quickly learned about data science as a field to how they can use data in their K-14 classrooms.
The DSA has taken the point of view that teachers, with sufficient support, will build a community of practitioners who will support each other in charting a way of incorporating data driven discovery in their classrooms. Conversations quickly spanned the grades with, for example, the kindergarten teachers spending time with the community college instructors and sharing ideas. The DataJam was an excellent source of inspiration and a huge resource for our EDSci Fellows as they quickly learned about data science as a field to how they can use data in their K-14 classrooms.
2024 Community College DataJam Finale
May 2, 2024
The 2024 Community College DataJam Finale. Watch the finale on YouTube. This was the first year we piloted a Community College DataJam in the Spring semester. Six teams participated, 3 from Laney College in Oakland, CA and 3 from Skyline College in San Bruno, CA. Teams were mentored by mentors from the Data Discovery Program at the University of California at Berkeley, in part supported by a pilot grant from the Exploratory Advanced Research program of the Federal Highway Administration. Three of the six projects focused on transportation issues of the future. Posters from the 1st and 2nd place teams highlight the excellent analytical work done.
Boston DataJam Teams Meet to Celebrate after the High School DataJam Finale
April 26, 2024
Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, Yunge Xiao, a past DataJam mentor trained at the University of Pittsburgh moved to Boston, MA to attend graduate school at the Harvard School of Public Health. Yunge received a prestigious Newman Civic Fellowship (see article in the June 2023 Issue 11 of the DataJam Download) in part to expand DataJam into the Boston area. This fellowship was supplemented with a DataJam Fellowship for her work on coordinating the development of DataJam Boston! In addition, Yunge received grant funding through the AllState Foundation.
Over the 9 month period from August 2023 to April 2024 Yunge was able to put together an ever-growing network of individuals, organizations and institutions in Boston to organize and train a team of DataJam mentors from Harvard and Northeastern University, and recruit two Boston high schools to participate in the 2024 DataJam: Boston Latin Academy (BLA) and Brooke High School. Very impressively, the BLA team won both a “Best Presentation” award and the “Best New Team” award for the 2024 DataJam!
DataJam Boston organized an in-person celebration the day after the High School DataJam Finale on Friday, April 26th, 2024. One mentor, one teacher from Brooke High School, and most of the participating students from both Brooke High School and BLA, along with others who have helped make DataJam Boston a reality joined Yunge for a get together with food, conversation and fun at Harriet Tubman Square in Boston. In Yunge’s words: “I believe that strong communities are the foundation of every meaningful program, and I hope to make these in-person events more frequent in the coming year.” Yunge and the BLA students are looking forward to a Fall 2024 field trip to visit a local company using big data analysis and brainstorming other ways to foster connection between mentors, students, teachers and the broader
2024 High School DataJam Finale
April 25, 2024
The 2024 DataJam Finale as recorded on video conference on April 25th, 2024. Watch here as the students present all their hard work and findings by explicating hypotheses using data analysis!
Winning Teams
Data Science Students Shine at DataJam and DataFest
April 19-21, 2024
Discover the inspiring journey of Skyline College's data science students as they shine in national competitions and impactful community projects! From pioneering the DataJam for community colleges to excelling at the DataFest national competition, these students are transforming data into solutions for real-world challenges. Dive into their innovative projects—from analyzing crime factors to improving transportation systems—and see how they're honing their skills through hands-on experience and prestigious symposium presentations. Don't miss their remarkable achievements and the opportunities these experiences open for their future careers in data science!
Middle School DataJam Day
April 11, 2024
As in 2023, DataJam hosted a Middle School DataJam Day for four school districts in Pittsburgh: Hampton, North Allegheny, Riverview and Avonworth, on April 11th, 2024. Fifty middle school students attended this half day program and chose one of four topics to study from a data science perspective, guided by DataJam mentors. At the end of the morning each team gave a presentation about their findings.
Women in Data Science (WiDS) Presentation at Carnegie Mellon University
March 16, 2024
Women in Data Science (WiDS) is an international organization of professional data scientists and students whose purpose is “to inspire and educate data scientists worldwide, regardless of gender, and support women in the field.” Judy Cameron and Beth Bauer from the DataJam Board of Directors had the opportunity to give a presentation about DataJam at the March 16th conference at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Several conference attendees were very interested and volunteered to be judges for DataJam 2024!
DataJam at Science Olympiad
January 20, 2024
Founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is the premier and largest team STEM competition in the nation. Divided between two divisions, Division B ranges from grades 6 to 9, while Division C ranges from grades 9 to 12. Across all 50 states, it tests around 6,000 teams at over 425 competitions across 23 different events from various fields of science. Events differ in style, ranging from written tests, engineering projects, to laboratory experiments.
On January 20, 2024, the University of Pittsburgh hosted a Division B invitational competition which over 200 middle school students attended, and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) hosted a Division C invitational competition which over 300 high school students attended. Two DataJam mentors, Jatin Singh and Daniel Hufnagle, gave presentations about the DataJam-sponsored Middle School Data Science Day at the Pitt event and about the DataJam at the CMU event.
We hope that a number of the more than 500 youth attending will participate in future DataJam events!
DataJam Presentation at Division B Science Olympiad on January 20, 2024. Photo by Bhaskar Chakarbarti
DataJam Presentation at Division C Science Olympiad on January 20, 2024.
DataJam Newsletter
Welcome to The DataJam Download, your monthly guide to all things DataJam! Dive into the world of high school data projects with us, where we keep you in the loop from September through June.
Stay on track with insights into where your team should be in the DataJam project process. We'll guide you through every step of the way, ensuring you're on the right path to success.
Discover fresh resources tailor-made to elevate your DataJam projects. Our constantly updated tools and resources are designed to help teams excel and achieve their goals.
Meet your mentors, our expert DataJam Mentors who are always ready to provide valuable advice and support. Learn from the best in the field and gain insights that will take your project to the next level.
Explore the spotlight on data professionals, where we showcase the world of data gurus collaborating with The DataJam to expand our reach nationwide. Get inspired by their stories and expertise, and see how they contribute to our vibrant community.
Get exclusive sneak peeks of exciting updates on our website, thedatajam.org. Plus, explore featured DataJam resources and learn where to find them online to enhance your project experience.
Stay connected with the latest activities of new teams joining the DataJam community in our Team Spotlight. Celebrate their achievements and milestones with us as we grow together.
Ready to join the DataJam community and receive your personalized newsletter every month? Just drop us an email at datajam@thedatajam.org or fill out the form below to get on our mailing list. We're also all ears for your suggestions! Share your ideas with us via email, and let's make this newsletter even better together.
Get ready to embark on a journey of data exploration with The DataJam Download - because data-driven success starts here!
The DataJam Archive
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