Data Storm 3.0 powered by OCTAVE
Once Helen Keller has said, “Alone we can do so little, but together, we can do so much.”
Unveiling to you is such a story which came to a grand ending thanks to the efforts of many individuals. Data Storm 3.0 is an Advanced Analytics competition organized by the Professional Development Avenues of Rotaract Clubs of University of Moratuwa, and the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, in partnership with OCTAVE, the Data and Advanced Analytics Centre of Excellence of the John Keells Group.
As we all witnessed, the third episode of Data Storm was an immense success, with nearly 300 delegates on board for the webinar series and the competition. After almost two and half months of Data Storm 3.0 journey, five super teams, Binary Trio, Data Dreamers, Team Pan, Decision Makers, and Team Ares, emerged as the finalists of this Sri Lanka’s premier Advanced Analytics competition. Data Storm never became a traditional datathon, also while contestants got the opportunity to interact with the industry professionals and learn from them while preparing for the competition. So to those who wonder how this is even possible, let us share the story of the powerhouse behind Data Storm 3.0.
For three consecutive years, OCTAVE held hands with us in penning the story of Data Strom. OCTAVE, the Data and Advanced Analytics Centre of Excellence of the John Keells Group, is a world class Advanced Analytics Centre of Excellence with effort towards adopting Data Driven operational and strategic decision making. Mainly, OCTAVE solves critical business challenges with the support of technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Advanced Analytics with Microsoft Azure. OCTAVE has always focused on success with the ideas of the dynamic and passionate team members of the organization.
More information: https://www.keells.com/octave/
OCTAVE’s patronage in the Data Storm journey enabled access to extensive knowledge in the field of Data Science for the emerging data enthusiasts among the Sri Lankan youth. When it comes to their involvement throughout the competition, from developing the case study for the contestants in all three phases including the storming round, semi-finals and finale, to evaluating the solutions and providing feedback to the contestants, OCTAVE never failed to take the lead. It is also essential to mention the two Master Classes we were able to conduct specifically for the storming round participants and the semifinalists to brush their skills and knowledge to tackle the case study, thanks to Mr. Praveen Ekanayake, Mr. Kiruparan Balachandran and Mr. Anuk Dissanayake. Furthermore, extending the partnership even beyond and adding more value to the story, this year, we were able to bring a new component to the competition structure, with personalized mentoring sessions to the finalists under the guidance of the professionals from OCTAVE.
Yes, you may all say that Data Storm is a pool of learning for the contestants, but there is an unseen aspect we would like to draw your attention to. As we walk down the memory lane of Data Storm 3.0, our team's weekly meetups with the team from OCTAVE and the insights we got from them were extremely beneficial and immeasurably valuable. As the organizing committee, the interactions with the OCTAVE group gave us the experience of working at a corporate level. Thus the journey of Data Strom 3.0 powered by OCTAVE was a steep and a memorable learning curve for all the parties.
Being a key pillar behind the success story of Data Storm 3.0, Octave has undoubtedly committed to lighting up the path of another set of youth. Thus, Rotaract Mora is forever indebted to OCTAVE for their generous support and encouragement in taking our steps forward without falling back. Today, we conclude the third story of Data Storm on a higher note, with the aspiration for more success stories to be written along with OCTAVE.
