Beware the coming storm – DataStorm
Back in June 2024, I posted “It’s a hackathon – but not as you know it”. I said at the time that I’d check back in and share how the program is progressing. August was a busy time with both the Design and Marketing teams working hard to design and develop the hackathon event – now called “DataStorm”.
DataStorm - Design Team
The Design team have been busy designing the event experience. Including defining the events purpose, the goals and objectives, the technical requirements including data needs and AI insight opportunities and event deliverables and success criteria.
No surprise that the purpose of the event is to provide participants with the opportunity to develop industry ready skills. By designing an event that develops real-world problem-solving skills and critical thinking. And that encourages participants to think creatively and innovatively about how to solve a data problem. Of course the event design also gives participants the opportunity to develop SAS skills, and also the means to focus on creating practice al and implementable solutions. With a dash of team development through networking and mentorship.
The Design team have also defined how participants must submit their insights. Via project submissions, including reports and solutions. And a final presentation, both oral and written. And defined the judging criteria and mechanisms for evaluation and feedback. The expected outcomes? Increased participant employability, enhanced data, AI and SAS skill and knowledge. And interaction with the business community.
DataStorm - Marketing Team
The Marketing team have been equally busy designing the event brand. Including how to present the vision of the event, articulate the benefit to participants and the value to sponsors and plan to execute to achieve these objectives.
It was the Marketing team who came up with the name DataStorm and associated brand. As a means to create a visual and emotive brand that resonates with both students and industry. The team also created a campaign plan to execute all elements of event promotion, including the design for digital marketing, promotion assets and implementation channels.
Crucially the team defined event success metrics including effectiveness of promotion and event plan, implementation of strategy, collaboration framework, engagement and participation rates and lastly quality of impact of submissions.
DataStorm
DataStorm is a collaboration between Torrens University and SAS, specifically the university Social Enterprise Hub (SEH) and SAS’s Global Academic Program.
SEH is an innovative initiative by Torrens University, dedicated to fostering social entrepreneurship and sustainable business practices. SEH serves as a platform for students, entrepreneurs, and community members to collaborate on projects that address social, environmental, and economic challenges. By providing resources, mentorship, and a supportive community, SEH empowers individuals to develop and implement solutions that create positive social impact. The Social Enterprise Hub delivers consultancy services to purpose-driven and not-for-profit enterprise partners from across Australia and globally. SHE helps to drive productivity and impact where in exchange, students gain practical and meaningful industry experience that helps prepare them for their future careers. As a student-led consulting agency, students get to shape its design, assist in the coordination of operations, and deliver consultancy projects.
The SAS Global Academic Program is committed to building a data, AI and technology enabled workforce. That’s why we support tertiary education institutes that deliver programs that close the data & AI skills gap, and why we support academic - industry engagements that empower our customers develop their data & AI culture & capability. The SAS Global Academic Program enables this ecosystem, by developing academic partnerships that deliver tertiary education and industry certification programs that embed industry relevant and applied data, AI and technology learning pathways.
DataStorm objective is to design a dynamic and inclusive event that brings together data enthusiasts and students from diverse backgrounds to collaboratively address pressing challenges through innovative solutions. The hackathon will focus on not only solving data-driven problems but also on enhancing participants' employability by equipping them with practical skills and industry knowledge. DataStorm is an innovative collaborative activity to achieve these goals.
