Round 1 of the SAS Curiosity Cup is over – and there was a lot of quality in the projects! 52 teams from around the globe submitted their paper, and 25 industry consultants gave their scores. Congratulations to the best 10 #teams! You have made it to the final round where you need to share a video presentation of your project.   All other teams: don’t be sad!  You were part of it, and we hope you have learned a lot and also had some fun. Next year there will be another edition and the chance for you to compete if you are still a student then.   We really appreciated the creative and funny input some teams gave: several papers about wine quality and tasting, speed dating, or comparing the patterns of alcohol pack size preferences between urban and rural residents in Iowa. There was a team "Left Twix" and I can tell you, we were sad that "Right Twix" did not register. Within the next days all teams will get a mail with your score and the sub-scores per category, comments from the jury and of course the instruction how to apply for your participant badge ... View more

If you’ve read anything about this year’s Curiosity Cup, you’ve probably seen the words “Industry Professionals” used to describe the judges. It begs the question: What industries are they from?     Great question.    If you took your best guess, you’d probably be right. That’s because our team of judges has representation from the world's largest and most lucrative industries. There are data scientists and analysts in software, insurance, banking, energy, telecom, consulting, and lots more! Despite their diverse backgrounds, they all have one thing in common: Each is a SAS expert who knows their way around a data set.    This may sound daunting. Fear not!     While they may be experts in their field, these judges have all agreed to participate because they are passionate about setting up the next generation of data scientists and analysts for success. So, think of The Curiosity Cup as a proving ground—a chance to test your data skills against the industry standard and against dozens of other young analytics enthusiasts across the world.     The SAS Curiosity Cup only has an upside! Congratulations on finishing your papers. As you wait to hear about the next round, be hopeful and, as always, stay curious. Your judges will follow suit!    ... View more

We are so excited that paper submissions are starting to come in - there are some really great topics. In case you need the paper submission template, I'm posting it here for your use. Good luck to all the teams! ... View more

Students: The 2023 SAS Curiosity Cup is here, and it’s the perfect chance to test your analytical know-how on a global stage! By now, many of you are working diligently on your papers, and some have even submitted them already. (Reminder that the deadline for submission is Feb. 15, 2023.)  So, you may be wondering, “What happens after I submit that paper?” That’s an excellent question, and I’m excited to answer it!     The judging: Once the paper submission deadline has passed, the judging will begin! The team of judges is not solely made up of SAS data scientists (though we do have a wealth of them here). This is a team of analytics experts in many industries across the globe! (Look out for a more detailed article about the judges later on.) These qualified individuals will collectively decide on the top teams based on their data preparation, data analysis, data presentation, and paper structure. There can be up to 15 teams that make the final round, and they will be notified by Feb. 24, 2023.    If you make the final round: If yours is one of the teams to be sent onto the next round, you will be considered a “SAS Curiosity Cup Finalist.” A SAS digital badge acknowledging this huge accomplishment will be given to each finalist team. You will have about a month (Feb. 24-March 27) to record a video presentation that clearly describes your data analysis as if it were being given to real stakeholders.     After the final round: The judges will choose a winner and a runner-up in each of these categories: Data Preparation, Data Analysis, and Data Presentation. These awards will come with their own digital badges, a SAS certification voucher, a SAS training course voucher, and a SAS branded mug. Winners will also receive one year of access to the SAS Academy for Data Science.    When awards are given, go brag! Post your achievements and your research on your professional networks. You can feel confident that your work has been vetted by people who do the work for a living!  ... View more