Developing AI and SAS Skills through Gamification

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At SAS, we’ve always known about the power of data and analytics. That’s why as part of the SAS Global Academic Program here in Australia, we’ve offered students the opportunity to participate in a range of data and analytics challenges.

The Global Academic Program exists to help students develop the data, analytics and SAS skills that todays’ economy and digital jobs demands. And the Student Series Data and Analytics challenges are a fun and hands-on way to develop these skills. They also allow students to connect with like-minded peers, enjoy a competitively spirited gaming experience and learn from feedback.

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, data and analytic challenges, or hackathons have emerged as powerful platforms that bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. These intensive events bring together diverse groups of students to solve real-world problems, fostering innovation, collaboration, and learning. Through our Student Series Hackathons, SAS is not only nurturing talent but also encouraging a culture of creativity and problem-solving.

We see hackathons as a catalysts to unleash creative potential. Our events offer students the freedom to experiment with cutting-edge technology and develop solutions to real world challenges. In fact the SAS Viya for Learners Challenge on Kaggle has just run for its 4th year. This hackathon provide a structured environment for students to dive into data analytics and artificial intelligence and solve a simulated real world problem.

A large financial services firm simulated data set is the basis of the challenge. Accounts in the data represent consumers of home equity lines of credit, automobile loans, and other types of short-term to medium-term credit instruments. The challenge was to analyse the latest marketing campaign and predict customer behaviour and if a customer will purchase an insurance product from the bank for the current campaign.

Students from multiple university around Australia competed to develop a model that predicted to most benefit to the customer and profitable result for the bank. And they got to post their results daily on a leader board. In fact, past event winners, such as Alejandro Rivera Alvarez have shared “I was so very excited to be the winner of the SAS Viya for Learners Challenge, a Kaggle competition” design to help “students.... learn machine learning with SAS”. The event “allowed me to demonstrate my skills, knowledge and to learn more, using SAS Viya for Learners”. Alejandro has since been successful and found a position as a Supply Chain Finance Analyst at Kraft Heinz.

In a world driven by innovation and technology, hackathons have emerged as transformative experiences that empower students to become tomorrow's leaders. SAS's dedication to promoting hackathons through its Student Series Hackthon underscores our commitment to shaping the future of analytics and technology. Through these events, SAS is not only fostering technical skills but also nurturing qualities like collaboration, creativity, and adaptability, which are essential for success in a dynamic global landscape. As hackathons continue to evolve, they will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the minds of aspiring innovators.

[MurrayDVilliers]

Well put @IanEdwards, gamification does create direct engagement and vested interest (and a very cool learning experience)