The Tech industry, although a hub for innovation and creativity, lags behind when it comes to the diversity of its workforce. Not only is this detrimental to women, who are missing out on the rewarding work available to them, but also to the industry itself. Indeed, research by McKinsey shows, that a more diverse workforce is more likely to flourish .
This is one of the reasons why here at TrueCue, we are running a campaign to provide information, advice and up-skilling opportunities to encourage women to seek careers in this exciting industry.
The first such event in this series is a Hackathon, which we proudly partnered on with Women in Data.
A Hackathon is an event in which participants team up to solve challenging problems with limited time. In our case, the task was to analyse a dataset on COVID-19.
Participants had the opportunity to improve your analytics capabilities and presentation skills, as well as speak to women working in the Tech industry – all while learning more about the global pandemic through data.
With over 300 participants registered from 41 countries, the response was overwhelming. These participants were joined by 40 facilitators, who collectively boasted over 200 years experience working in the field of data.
Each of the 40 teams who started the hackathon on October 13th, were supported by a facilitator.
The task was to analyse a global COVID-19 data set, before crafting research questions around COVID-19, focusing on any of the following approaches.
Which countries/regions are the hardest hit?
When did the pandemic spike in each region?
How are population age and cases related
What type of restrictions proved the most effective (or costly)?
How does a country’s economic integration impact their experience with the pandemic?
Can we use economic trade patterns to model the spread of a pandemic?
Given the current policies, where will the next hotspot be?
What are the optimal triggers to introduce social restrictions?
How long would different levels of restrictions have to be put in place to hit specific targets?
After undertaking 2 weeks of research and analysis, each team then had to submit a 4-6 minute presentation, showcasing their findings, insights and recommendations over methodology, using a visualisation tool of their choice.
We’ve made each stage of our 2020 Women in Data Hackathon available on-demand, including top-tips on how to turn data into meaningful insight, leading women in data guest speakers, and presentations from our finalists.
Guest speakers include:
Rachel Keane – Co-Founder, Women in Data
Melissa Robinson – Sales Engineering Manager, Alteryx
Annie Hou – SVP of Data Science, GroupM
Wendy Gilbert – Director of Global Data and BI Products, Expedia Partner Solutions
Dr Annie Quinn – Research Scientist, Heriot-Watt University
Team: Google Gals
Facilitator: Yvenn Amara-Ouali
Team Members: Reema Sodha, Joy Chow, Vanessa Jiménez, Violette Su, Zsanett Bahor
Team: MACS
Facilitator: Zoe Turner
Team Members: Anna Trichkine, Christine Prout, Shuyao Huang, Ikvi Auliaurrachmah, Nancy Scott, Susie Crone
Team: Fishing Consultancy
Facilitator: Laura Fischer
Team Members: Heba Mazhar, Divya Shridhar, Ida Barlow, Sakshi Banka, Shannon Wong, Rhian Williams
Learn more
“A perfect beginning of an amazing journey! What an honour to be one of the winning teams of the 2020 Women in Data Hackathon!
Thank you TrueCue and Women in Data for organising and giving me the opportunity to participate in this event.
It was truly an amazing experience to learn and collaborate with such a diverse group of talented ladies, and support the empowerment of women in the tech sector!”
Shannon Wong – MBA Student, Imperial College London and TrueCue Women in Data Hackathon 2020 Winning Team Member
Learn about how we’re helping the largest Sustainability and Transformation Partnership in the NHS, to use data analytics to improve their response to COVID-19 and save lives.
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