Congratulations WiDS Datathon 2024 Challenge #2 winners and all global participants!
WiDS Datathon Challenge #2 was a great success! Participants analyzed Gilead’s dataset to find out how climate patterns impact access to healthcare. The majority of participants were women, further promoting inclusivity in the field of data science.
Hear the winners discuss their results and findings in an online panel discussion.
Meet the winners:
1st place: Team 256
Rebecca Achola and Emmanuel Ogwal
How did your team meet?
We met on X (formerly Twitter) when we realized we both have a passion for Data Science.
What was your team’s biggest learning or insight participating in the challenge?
The biggest learning lesson learnt from this challenge is to always trust your local cross-validation.
2nd place: Team Perceptron
Sharon Sujitha and Chandan Kumar
How did your team meet?
We work for the same company, Wells Fargo, and share an interest in data science. When we discovered this opportunity at a Wells Fargo event, we saw it as an excellent chance to learn and showcase our skills.
What was your team’s biggest learning or insight participating in the challenge?
Participating in the WiDS Datathon sharpened our machine learning and data analysis skills and taught us the importance of understanding the background of the problem statement. It enabled us to identify the valuable features that might not have surfaced through statistical analysis.
3rd place: Team O-S
Olga Skvortsova
Why did you join the datathon?
Being part of the Women in Data Science initiative was inspiring, especially given this year’s topic’s personal resonance as I have two friends battling breast cancer.
What was your biggest learning or insight participating in the challenge?
In Challenge #1 of WiDS 2024, I experienced a notable drop from first place on the Public Leaderboard to 183rd on the Private Leaderboard. However, Challenge #2 taught me the importance of reviewing my work, learning from mistakes, and not giving up.
Top First-Timers of the WiDS Datathon: Team DynaMinds
Madur Krishna Chaitanya, Poojangi Gadekar, Swapna Yara and Venkat Irri
How did your team meet?
We all belong to the same company and were equally curious about the AI-ML, so we decided to participate in the WiDS challenge.
What was your team’s biggest learning or insight participating in the challenge?
Even though the Algorithms are brilliant, it is us who add the Intelligence in AI 🙂
Top High Schooler: Team Mina
Michelle Han
Why did you join the datathon?
I joined the datathon because I wanted to leverage my data science skills towards addressing a significant global issue like healthcare equity.
What was your biggest learning or insight participating in the challenge?
One of the biggest things I learned by participating in this challenge is the complexity of healthcare equity issues and the potential of data science to uncover hidden patterns within those issues.
Top students: Team UMF_MG_Underdogs
Panait Andrei, Mitric David, Nedelcu Andreea-Demetra and Mihai Ștefania-Crina
How did your team meet?
We met as classmates during our first year of university and became friends.
Why did your team join the datathon?
We joined the datathon hoping to broaden our horizons.
What was your team’s biggest learning or insight participating in the challenge?
This challenge taught us the importance of getting a good grasp of the basics and preparing a solid foundation on top of which to build different features and models.