Waters Edge, Colombo
2 - 4 August 2019

A hackathon for data enthusiasts

Register now

WANT TO STAY AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF DATA SCIENCE?

Organised by Dialog Axiata PLC and Axiata Analytics, Datathon is Sri Lanka’s most prestigious datathon revolving around the role of Big Data and Machine Learning.

Datathon is a weekend-long datathon: 2 - 4 August. People from all over Sri Lanka will have the chance to team up with like-minded professionals with the end goal of developing machine learning algorithms based on the provided datasets.

THIS COMPETITION IS FOR:

Datathon is open to both students and working individuals from all backgrounds, including:

Data scientists
Data community activists
Data engineers
Computer engineers
Programmers
IT professionals

Prizes

Prizes are of equivalent value to LKR as follows.

TEAM

CHAMPION

400,000 LKR
(Sponsored by Huawei)

First Runner-up

250,000 LKR
(Sponsored by Microsoft)

Second Runner-up

150,000 LKR
(Sponsored by Microsoft)

Individual

Best Data Scientist

100,000 LKR

Best Data Engineer

100,000 LKR

Best Entrepreneur

Sponsored by Professor Paul Morrissey

Full schedule

2nd August, Friday
3rd August, Saturday
4th August, Sunday

Launch Day (6:30PM - 11PM)

  • Registration and Dinner
  • Workshop by Microsoft
  • Dataset download

Hack Day (12AM - 8PM)

  • Datathon Commences
  • First Judging Session
  • Second Judging Session

Submission & Pitch (6AM - 2PM)

  • Submission of Solution
  • Announcement of Top 5 Teams
  • Top 5 Teams’ Presentation
  • Closing Ceremony & Prize Giving Session

Registration

Accepting Registrations Now!
Deadline: 21 July

Register as a participant

Participants will be invited to complete an online assessment to qualify for datathon.

Register now

The Challenge

As organisations that deliver significant impact to the business, Axiata Group and Dialog Axiata PLC realise the importance of data-driven decisions.

This competition aims to showcase exactly that – by being the platform where top talents can showcase their data-driven insights and solutions to create real impact for the business.

Your tasks
Themes
Judging criteria

You will receive big dataset related to smart city planning. With that, your team will need to come up with a good prediction model

1

Models to make the most accurate prediction for the scenario given

2

Insights into the data that can contribute into improving the organsation.


The submissions will be assessed by our judges to determine the top 5 teams.

The chosen entries will then advance to pitch their analysis in front of the panel and audience in order to be selected as the top 3 winners.

The theme of Datathon is Smart City Planning.

The challenge revolves around data analytics, feature engineering, Big Data analytics, and applied data science algorithms.

Here’s what we’re looking for in the winning formula:

  • Relevance- Is your solution relevant to the competition and to society?
  • Impact- Is there an evident added value to your solution?
  • Innovation- What is novel or creative about the solution?
  • Technical ability- How complex are your algorithms and are you able to make your audience understand your solution easily?
  • Overall excellence- Did you make optimal use of the data?

Disclaimer

  • Dialog Axiata PLC. reserves the right to cancel or postpone the Datathon at anytime for any reason
  • Dialog Axiata PLC. reserves the right to own all Intellectual property rights, product and final presentation
  • Winners will be selected by Dialog Axiata PLC. in its sole discretion and must have conformed to the Terms and Conditions. Dialog Axiata PLC.’s decision with respect to the Winners will be final and no queries and/or appeals thereof will be entertained.
  • Winners will be selected in its sole discretion of the judges.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is Datathon?

Datathon is a datathon competition that brings together the brightest minds in the data science world in Sri Lanka to showcase their data analytics capabilities by developing thought-provoking business solutions.

2. WHAT IS THE APPLICATION PROCESS

I. Online registration
Please click on https://axiata.com/datathon/ and click the registration button. You will be directed to a Google Form where you will complete your personal details, assessment and upload your resume.

II. Online assessment
The online test is our pre-screening assessment to proceed the qualified participants to the competition. You will complete the online assessment during registration process.

III. Final confirmation
The shortlisted participants will be notified via email confirmation. The shortlisted participants will be arranged into a team of 4 or 5 and proceed to semi-final competition in Colombo.

3. IS THERE ANY AGE LIMIT?

You can join the competition if you are above 18 years old. There is no age limit.

4. WHO CAN JOIN Datathon?

All final year university students and working professionals. You will need to pass the assessment during registration.

5. IF I HAVE MORE ENQUIRIES, HOW CAN I CLARIFY?

You can email your enquiries to [email protected].

6. ARE THE PARTICIPANTS ALLOWED TO STAY OVERNIGHT AT THE VENUE?

Yes, you may stay overnight at the venue. We have bean bags and resting areas.

7. WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO THE COMPETITION?

Participants should bring own laptops, backup laptop, chargers, internet dongle and stationaries. As it is going to be an overnight event, bring anything that is necessary, such as sleeping bags, toiletries and sets of clothes.

8. WHAT HARDWARE WILL THE PARTICIPANTS BE USING TO PERFORM DATA MODELLING?

Data modelling/ Data preparation/ Feature engineering needs to be done using your own laptop. Additionally, you will be provided with free Microsoft Azure cloud credits during the competition and you may utilize it using your laptop/ workstation.

9. HOW MANY SELECTED PARTICIPANTS WILL ATTEND THE ONSITE SEMI-FINAL COMPETITION?

Approximately 80 - 90 participants.

10. CAN I ATTEND Datathon VIRTUALLY?

No, unfortunately, all shortlisted participants will be required to be present onsite to finish the competition in Colombo.

11. HOW MANY HOURS DO I NEED TO STAY AT THE VENUE?

You are encouraged to stay at the venue throughout the competition. However, depending on the finalised itinerary of the competition, you may leave the venue upon announcement by the Master of Ceremony (MC).

12. WILL FOOD & BEVERAGES BE PROVIDED?

Yes.

13. WILL THE LAPTOP BE PROVIDED?

No. Please bring your own laptop.

14. CAN I BRING MY OWN EQUIPMENT TO SOLVE PROBLEM?

Yes.

15. WILL WIFI BE PROVIDED?

Yes.

16. DO I NEED TO BRING ANY VERIFICATION DOCUMENTS DURING REGISTRATION?

Yes, please bring your NID or passport for verification purpose during registration.

17. WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?

The Champion team will be awarded a prize equivalent to LKR 400,000.
The First Runner- Up team will be awarded a prize equivalent to LKR 250,000.
The Second Runner-Up team will be awarded a prize equivalent to LKR 150,000.
For Top Data Scientists and Data Engineers, we will award each of them prizes equivalent to LKR 100,000 each.

18. WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA TO JOIN Datathon?

We are looking for final year students and working individuals from all backgrounds, including:
- Data scientists
- Data engineers
- Programmers
- Data community activists
- Computer engineers
- IT professionals

19. CAN SOMEONE USE MY NAME AND PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION?

No, we do not tolerate any kind of misrepresentation.

20. HOW CAN I FORM A TEAM DURING REGISTRATION?

During registration, we only accept individual application. Once you are shortlisted, you will be given a list of all the shortlisted participants to form your own team of 5 members from that list.

21. CAN I FORM A TEAM OF MEMBERS AND JOIN Datathon?

If all your friends are shortlisted for this competition after passing the online assessment, you can form your own team. Else, we will help you to form a team.

Organisers

Dialog
Axiata Analytics

Partners

Axiata Digital Labs
DataSearch
Have questions regarding the Datathon?
Contact Us