Teams
Participants
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The Big Data Challenge (BDC) is a competition that helps students get excited about Data Science and its potential to support inquiry-based learning and problem-solving with open data. The Big Data Challenge involves STEAM students undertaking independent research projects to tackle real-world problems with the best industry analytical tools while learning about digital citizenship.
How it Works
We present the general competition theme within which you define a research topic of interest. We supply you with relevant open data and leading data analytics tools with which you carry out your inquiry, come with ideas, develop solutions and present your findings in the form of a research paper.
The best part is you don’t even need to have prior data science knowledge to join! We will provide you with access to resources and webinars to learn everything you need to succeed!
This year’s competition will encourage students to explore a computer-based approach to the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of recreational drugs, and quantify their xenobiotic effects as well as the impact exerted by these drugs in human health and on society.
The challenge will be based in the analysis of open data from Health Canada, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Drug Bank, the National Cancer Institute, Google Data Search, and other open data sources identified by students.
Through this challenge, students will:
- Collect and analyse data pertaining to recreational drugs at the biological, checmical, psychological, and sociological levels
- Gain insight into the use of pharmacometric models to quantify the interactions between drugs and human patients
- Characterise, understand, and predict implications of drug use on individual health, public health, and the socioeconomic levels
- Explore human health and well-being issues (physical health, public health, mental health, etc.) in the context of local, regional, and public health.
- Identify and suggest safe consumption, production, and selling strategies, and policies to prevent or decrease harmful consequences of xenobiotics upon the health of individuals of society.
Check out our full itinerary here.
Engage in self-directed learning through trial-and-error. Participate in our workshops to learn the data science skills needed for you to analyse your problems.
Participate in workshops to learn the data science skills needed to analyse problems.
Interact in person and remotely with mentors and students across Canada via Slack
Have your work published in the STEM Fellowship Journal! The top 3 finalists have full manuscripts published and all participants have their abstracts published.
Practice your communication skills and present your findings to a panel of judges.
Prizes:
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Research Internships
Monetary prizes
$1000 Roche prize- Toronto
$1000 Roche prize- Calgary
$500 Roche prize- Toronto
$500 Roche prize- CalgaryScholarly publication of all project abstracts and full manuscripts of winning projects in the STEM Fellowship Journal, published by NRC Research Press.
WE EMPHASIZE FOUR KEY SKILLS
Computational Thinking
The ability to translate aggregates of data into abstract concepts and conduct data-based reasoning.
Social Intelligence
The ability to participate in the collaborative construction of solutions.
Design Mindset
The ability to create solutions in contexts where only part of the requirements are known.
Cognitive Load Management
The ability to discriminate and filter the information needed to produce successful solutions.
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