How My Team of Undergrads Won a Data Science Competition
How My Team of Undergrads Won a Data Science Competition for Graduate and Ph.D. Students
Data Science, EducationI think there are a few secrets to success in data science that I uncovered while doing the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science’s Competition. I’ll outline my experience and explain how these keys to success helped my team of undergrads beat out several teams of Masters and Ph.D. students.The Competition StructureThe teams were handed out data from the Los Angeles Bike Share. It details all the trips between LA’s bike stations, giving their geolocation (start and stop), date and time, and the user’s payment plan (yearly subscriber/monthly subscriber/one trip only). We were asked to turn in a 20-page report, one month from the competition’s launch date. Seven groups would be selected from the report submissions to present to a group of academic and industry judges who would select the winners.The Challenge Statement“The central question is how have LA Bike commutes changed over from 2016 when the Metro Bike Share program began until today? In particular, contestants are asked to consider how revenue and trips for a typical day have changed over both location and time. Is the number of tickets and passports increasing in all three Regions? Has the mileage among one-way commuters increased, and how? Is the number of trips increasing? Team projects will be evaluated on elements of their…