Dialog and Ideamart to Host Sri Lanka’s Largest Datathon for Big Data Analytics Community

 

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, along with Ideamart and the Axiata Analytics Centre will host Sri Lanka’s largest ever data science hackathon where Big Data, Analytics, and Machine Learning are leveraged to solve real-world problems, nurture a pool of specialists in this fast-emerging area of expertise and develop skills required in an increasingly connected and data-driven world.

Datathon, Powered by Dialog and Ideamart, is set to be held on 2nd August 2019 and will be a weekend-long hackathon bringing together data enthusiasts to create data-driven solutions with real impact under the overall theme of ‘Smart City Planning’, making the event Sri Lanka’s first data science hackathon on smart city planning. Data enthusiasts from all over Sri Lanka and the wider region will have the chance to team up with like-minded professionals with the end-goal of developing machine learning algorithms based on the provided datasets. Considered a data-focused hackathon, the datathon will present participants with complex mock-datasets and the challenge to develop models and insights over the weekend that lead to practical solutions to businesses and societies.

Dr. Rainer Deutschmann, Group Chief Operating Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC said, “The successful company in the future will be data driven and analytics first. As Dialog we are partners to our customers to embrace the power of innovation and digital transformation, which requires data savvy skills far beyond today’s availability. Our Datathon, with our partners Microsoft, Huawei and University of Moratuwa, provides a platform for top Sri Lankan and international data science talent, to solve real-world problems by data-driven insights which have the potential to improve the lives of Sri Lankan citizens and serve as viable business solutions”. He added, “Dialog is proud to host Sri Lanka’s first data science hackathon on Smart City planning, especially relevant for an increasingly urbanised world.”

The hackathon will kick off with a preview into the mock-dataset and a basic brief to prepare participants for the upcoming ‘hack days’. The following two days (3rd and 4th August 2019) will see the release of the complete mock-dataset, encouraging participants to go into full gear as they flex their analytical muscles to develop new and innovative data-driven solutions. Then, a judging panel will select 5 teams to pitch their ideas, after which 3 teams will be announced as winners, standing a chance to win prizes from a total prize pool worth LKR 1 million, sponsored by Dialog, Huawei and Microsoft.

Commenting, Pedro Uria-Recia, Head of Axiata Analytics said, “Datathon, Powered by Dialog and Ideamart, will help us to identify Sri Lanka’s best data science talent through a rigorous and methodical process. It simulates the problems that data scientists face on the job with Dialog Axiata PLC, if they are hired. This datathon also assesses the participant’s ability to pose meaningful questions, work in teams and use cutting-edge techniques to extract significant insight from data.”

The event will be conducted with Huawei as the Champion Prize Sponsor, Microsoft as the Strategic Cloud Partner and Runners-up Prize Sponsor, PickMe as the Mobility Partner, the University of Moratuwa as the University Partner, as well as Datasearch. Registrations for Datathon, Powered by Dialog and Ideamart, are now open and will close on 21st July 2019. Any interested individual may visit www.axiata.com/datathon to register.