DataFest Germany 2025
March 28-30, 2025
@ Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 01, 80539 München
Call for applications 2025! 📢
We are glad to announce our call for applications to join the 8th edition of DataFest Germany, which will take place at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (March 28-30, 2025). The event is hosted by the Social Data Science and AI Lab (SODA) in collaboration with the Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML), the AI-HUB@LMU, and the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim.
Apply here! We are looking forward to your applications!
What is DataFest? 🎉
Our event is a data-based competition, also known as a “hackathon” which takes place annually, alternating between Mannheim and Munich, and hosted in cooperation with partners from industry and research institutions.
DataFest is a competition and networking event. Participants get the unique opportunity to work with a large dataset using their own ideas as well as networking with leaders and companies in the field of statistics.
Datafest Germany, is a celebration that follows upon the model DataFest™, organized by the American Statistical Association. The world's first DataFest took place at the University of California in 2011. Since then, many universities took up the DataFest format.
Impressions from DataFest Germany 2023 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
What is the competition about? 👀
Bachelor and Masters-level students of all subjects participate in teams of 3–5 persons, having 48 hours to gain the best insights and derive relevant analysis from an extensive data set, which is not revealed until the start of the event. Data is visualized, analysed, modelled and much more.
In previous years, we provided data from the Los Angeles Police Department, which were analyzed for solutions to reduce crime rates, as well as data from a dating site which were analyzed for characteristics that predicted the users' dating decisions.
During the competition, students are supported by a team of statistics and computer science experts from the Social Data Science and AI Lab (SODA). To preserve the integrity of the event, we ask that you only work on the dataset while you are at the DataFest site.
How to register? 📋
Bachelor and Masters-level students of all subjects are welcome to apply in teams of 2–5 people.
Because of the assignment's complexity, we strongly recommend that your team consist of at least three people.
Unfortunately, we will not accept teams with doctoral students or post-docs. If you would still like to participate, contact us to be considered as a DataFest Germany advisor.
Please keep in mind
To ensure a fair and consistent experience for all participants, we kindly request that teams exclusively work on the dataset while at the DataFest site.
At least two members from each team must be present at the beginning of the event.
The details of DataFest assignments remain confidential until the event kicks off.
Have a question? Please send us an email with your question to: datafest@stat.uni-muenchen.de
Are there prizes? 🥇🥈🥉
Yes! At the close of the event, teams present their results to a jury of experts. Prizes are awarded in four categories:
Best Insights
Best Visualization
Best Use of Outside Data
Best Data Quality Insights
*Images: generated with Dall-e3
FAQ 🤔
Where is the venue of the Datafest Germany 2024? The event will take place at the main building of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 01).
Will there be food? Yes! We will provide plenty of food and drinks throughout the duration of the event, so you can focus entirely on your data work.
Will there be accommodation? Unfortunately, we are not able to provide dedicated accommodation during the event. However, we have compiled a list of budget accomodations in Munich.
Can I participate even if I am not affiliated with the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich? Yes! We very much welcome applications from other German Universities as well as from outside Germany!
Can I participate without a team? Participation without a team is not possible. Not only are you more productive and creative as a team, but you will also share some really good moments together. Shall you want to participate but don’t have a team, we offer you the opportunity to connect with others who are also looking for a team: Join the datafest2025 Discord Server (coming soon), where you may find others looking for a team as well.
What can I win? At the close of the event, teams present their results to a jury of experts. We won't spoil the prizes, but rest assured, they are worth the effort.
What is the event's language? The event will take place completely in English.
I have another question! Please send us an email with your question to: datafest@stat.uni-muenchen.de
Want to support DataFest?
Information for sponsors and Career Fair employers:
DataFest gives the enriching opportunity to students to gain experience analyzing real data and meeting employers. Employers are invited to participate in our Career Fair, as well as to provide advice to the competing teams.
By providing financial support to DataFest Germany, not only do you allow us to host the students, but you will support the DataFest mission and help expose students to challenging questions with immediate real-world significance that can be addressed through data analysis.
You can easily support our DataFest Germany as follows:
Donation: Donate using our online donation tool - an easy, safe and quick way to support our Datafest. This donation mechanism is provided by the Social Data Science and AI Lab (LMU-Department of Statistics) --> Donate here!
Sponsor Partner: by partnering with us, your firm or organisation can join us as a Career Fair employer and share your professional vacancies or internships to our high skilled and motivated cohort of future Data Scientists! Read more about our Call for Sponsors and Career Fair Partners
If you want to support DataFest Germany and need more information about the sponsoring possibilities, please reach out to Wiebke Weber, Scientific Manager at the Social Data Science and AI Lab (SODA): (wiebke.weber@stat.uni-muenchen.de)
DataFest Germany and KODAQS project
We are glad to announce the participation of the Competence Center for Data Quality in the Social Sciences (KODAQS), which will strengthen our mission to bolster the data science community network in Germany.
A team of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers will participate parallelly to the main DataFest contest, with the mission to develop analytical proposals, methodologies and tools for data quality measurement.
KODAQS is a collaboration between Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Uni-Mannheim and GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. The project aims to foster a new culture for teaching data quality skills in the social sciences.
Past DataFests
This year marks the th edition of our DataFest in Germany, which has been organized since 2015 in collaboration with the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim. Below you can find relevant information about our past editions::
DataFest 2024 in Mannheim
DataFest 2023 in Munich
DataFest 2019 in Mannheim
DataFest 2017 in Mannheim
DataFest 2016 in Munich (German only)
DataFest 2015 in Mannheim (German only)
DataFest at Duke University in the USA