Manipal ProLearn, the professional learning unit of the Manipal Global Education Services (MaGE), has partnered with the Data Science Society (DSS) for Academia Datathon 2018.
DSS is a not-for-profit data-driven community (based out of Sofia, Bulgaria) which aims to promote the field of quantitative research and accelerate ethical and open innovation in data science domain through better collaboration between science, education, and business.
The weekend-long competition held online, was conducted during 27 - 29th April, 2018.
It involved experimenting with cryptocurrency data and finding ways to hack the virtual exchange system through machine learning algorithms.
The goal was to create, in less than 48 hours, an accurate prediction model of the major cryptocurrencies' prices, and layer it with an autonomous Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) for successful decision-making in investing/trading.
The event's aim was to make the domain a more applied subject and more accessible by solving real cases and incorporating practical exercises into the learning process.
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This Datathon saw participation of about 150 students from over 10 universities, from across six countries who were challenged to work on one real-world business case as well as build their Machine Learning models and test them with cryptocurrency data.
It also brought together more than 25 mentors from all over the world to share their knowledge in the fields of fintech, cryptocurrency and data science.
Manipal ProLearn represented 25 percent of all participants, with 37 students participating as eight teams.
In the semi-finals, seven out of our eight teams qualified constituting 37 percent of the 19 teams that went through.
Two teams from Manipal ProLearn qualified for the finals, which saw a competition amongst the best five.
"Learning an intense domain like Data Science requires students to acquire knowledge and skills as well as master its applications in real-world scenario. As a professional learning organisation, we believe that the learning students get by participating in real-industry projects and competitions help them fast track their learning process. The Academia Datathon organised by Data Science Society is one of its kind initiative where students get to compete and benchmark themselves against participants from all across the world," said A P Ramabhadran, CEO of Manipal ProLearn.
"Besides technical skills, this format allows the students to develop interpersonal skills fostered by the need for intensive internal group and external communication and the informal and formal presentation of their ideas to others (and eventually to the whole world). We are glad that nine teams from Manipal ProLearn participated and they fared well in this Datathon. To have two teams from Manipal ProLearn reach the finals of this competition is an honor," Ramabhadran added.
Manipal ProLearn offers Post Graduate Diploma in Data Science which is one of the top ranked data science courses in the country.
The course is delivered by expert faculty comprising of accomplished and committed industry experts, as well as academicians.
The Datathon helps students to acquire skills through real-world projects and benchmark themselves against the international standards.