UofSC National Big Data Health Science Conference
Case Competition 2020
Announcement
The Big Data Health Science Case Competition will be held between February 7th-9th 2020 before the University of South Carolina’s National Big Data Health Science Conference. The Big Data Case Competition is intended to provide enthusiastic teams of graduate and senior undergraduate students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge to the analysis of big datasets in healthcare. Participating teams will be given the same business problem, datasets and access to software to solve a challenging problem using a data analytics approach. Each participating team will analyze the case and data sets provided by the sponsoring company. During this period, the teams must identify the most prominent issues facing the company and develop a strategy to address these key issues in order to help companies achieve their goals. Team members will work together to present their methods and analysis results at the Big Data Health Science Conference. A panel of industry and academic experts judge the presentations based on teams’ use of the full analytics process, from framing the problem to methodology selection, data use, model building and innovation.
Competition Format & Case Analysis
- The whole competition will be conducted in English
- Students receive competition rules, the case, the public data sources, teams will be assigned and receive a power point presentation template on the first day of the case competition on February 7th, 2020. The company will introduce the case and provide background information.
- Each team will be given 2 days to devise a solution for a business case (February 7-8, 2020), to submit a Power Point presentation, and an executive summary. The time spent analyzing the case will be very intense and focused.
- Teams are expected to produce original work.
- Teams may not consult with non-team members during preparation of the case analysis or on the day of competition. This includes faculty, advisors, staff, ambassadors, and fellow students.
Team Composition
- Participants must form a team of three members with an alternate at-large member.
- Each team will be comprised of currently enrolled undergraduate and/or graduate students from any university in the U.S.
Power Point Presentations
- Teams must submit a solution proposal of up to 12 Power Point slides (including cover and index) and teams are allowed no more than 4 slides of appendix.
- Teams must also submit an executive summary. The written executive summary should highlight the key points of the team’s solution for the case study in a two-page narrative format. All summaries will be judged and scored in advance of the onsite event by a panel of judges.
- The written executive summary should not exceed two pages.
- The summary must use Times New Roman 12-point font and must be single-spaced.
- Teams will need to copy both the PowerPoint file and Executive Summary onto the two provided flash drives for the presentation.
Resources
- Teams are expected to conduct any and all necessary research through publicly available resources. Use of all library resources, class textbooks and websites are welcome. Participants will have access to the UofSC’s Libraries and on-line databases.
- Laptops will not be provided during the competition. Teams will need to bring their own laptops, but due to technical differences, technical support may not be available.
Onsite Oral Presentation Rules
- The team will use the PowerPoint slides to give its oral presentation on the day of the competition (February 9th, 2020). The presentation may not be longer than 15 minutes.
- Additional 15 minutes will be allotted for Q&A. If a team finishes its presentation early, it will proceed with its 15-minute question-and-answer session.
- A panel of judges then will ask questions they deem appropriate and judge the presentation.
- Teams are allowed to introduce themselves to the judges and shake hands with them during the 5-minute setup period.
- All team members are expected to offer an equal share of the presentation.
- Presenters may use notecards during the presentation.
- Teams are permitted to bring copies of their slide deck to present to the judges, but this is not required.
- Dress is business professional.
- Teams will not be allowed to observe other team presentations during the preliminary rounds. Once eliminated, teams can observe all presentations.
Judging
- Each team presentation will be judged by a panel of three to seven judges. These judges will be composed of business representatives and faculty representatives.
Prizes
- The Winning team will receive cash prizes:
- First Prize $3,000
- Second Prize $2,000
- Third Prize $1,000
- Award money will be split equally among winning team members and will be presented during the opening session on Monday Feb 9, 2020 at the National Big Data Health Science Conference in South Carolina Convention Center in Columbia, SC.
Sponsorship
There can two types of sponsors: Data-providing sponsor or no-data sponsor.
The Data-Providing Sponsors may:
- Provide the case and data sets (with defined parameters on proprietary information). The data can also be resampled to generate “pseudo data” with your permission;
- Prioritize and define the challenges / goals / deliverables for Big Data Case Competition participants;
- Assign facilitator(s) from the company to provide guidance and oversight on the first day of the case competition while delivering case data to the participants; (allocated time will be max. 2 hours)
- Assign jury(ies) to judge the final presentations of the team and
- Sponsor the Big Data Case Competition Awards (The company can rename the award(s) in order to align it with its mission and values.)
The No-data Sponsor may:
- Assign jury(ies) to judge the final presentations of the team and
- Sponsor the Big Data Case Competition Awards (The company can rename at the award(s) in order to align it with its mission and values.)