What is DataFest?

The American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest is a celebration of data in which teams of students work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex data set. The event is open to students of all backgrounds, and provides an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with real-world data. Photos from previous events are provided below.

Group registration link

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No photos available yet for 2026.

How does it work?

A large, complex data set will be introduced at the event start, alongside a broad research question. Students will then have until Sunday to create a five-minute presentation that addresses some interesting aspect of the data. The data are kept confidential until the start of the event, but some examples of past events are provided below. To see a full list of past data, visit the ASA DataFest webpage.

Play2Prevent Lab, Yale School of Medicine (2022)

Analyze game logs of the Elm City game to determine if there are coherent styles of play that might be useful for characterizing middle school students’ attitudes towards risky behaviors.

Rocky Mountain Poison Control Center (2021)

Goal: Provide advice for medical professionals that could identify potential misuse of prescription drugs. Data consisted of over 10,000 responses to an international survey about prescription drug use.

Canadian National Women’s Rugby Team (2019)

How do we quantify the role of fatigue and workload in a team’s performance in Rugby 7s? How reliable are the subjective wellness Data? Should the quality of the opponent or the outcome of the game be considered when examining fatigue during a game? Can widely used measurements of training load and fatigue be improved? How reliable are GPS data in quantifying fatigue?

Event Details

  • Date: April 18 - April 19
    • Opening ceremony: Saturday, April 18 10:00 am
    • Presentations: Sunday, April 19 12:00 pm
    • Closing ceremony: Sunday, April 19 1:30 pm
  • Location: The Q-Center (MBH 202)
  • Prizes: Prizes will be awarded for a variety of reasons, both technical and creative.

For more details, please contact the Statistics faculty members (stats@middlebury.edu).