The Datathon will focus on addressing some of the most important issues facing the healthcare system. Participants will have the opportunity to draw on Open Data to analyse healthcare provision in Northern Ireland, and to suggest data driven and wider strategic opportunities to solve these challenges.

Effective healthcare provision is a cornerstone of a well-functioning society, and something we all rely on for ourselves and our families. The Northern Ireland healthcare system has faced a multitude of challenges, such as increasing hospital wait times, the closure of GP practices and Social Care facilities, and increased demand due to changing demographics. This is set in the context of wider funding and political challenges, as well as the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Students will work in teams, alongside industry mentors, to develop strategic data driven solutions to crucial societal issues. Full training is provided prior to the Datathon, which will introduce the problem and the data, as well as specific analytics methods. Half of the training day is more spent on explaining the data, the healthcare system and the general problem. The second half of the day will include an opportunity to gain a hands-on introduction to data analysis using Alteryx, a leading Analytics software provider, who made a $15 million donation to the university. Participants will therefore benefit from insights into the healthcare sector, networking opportunities, as well as learning new analytics skills.

Pre-training will take place prior to the Datathon, on Thursday 12 June 10am - 1pm at the Student Hub, Queen's Business School. 

Prizes will be awarded for the best solutions, and first 100 participants will receive a free t-shirt.

• Register here as a team or an individual (you will be assigned to a team).
• Contact Karl Webb about becoming an industry mentor: K.Webb@qub.ac.uk
• Contact Byron Graham for any enquiries: byron.graham@qub.ac.uk