Waseda University will hold its first Data Science Competition on July 27 (Sat), 2019. The challenge for its inaugural year will see teams of students ranging from high school to postgraduate levels presenting their predictions for the outcome of Japan’s Upper House Election on July 21 (Sun).

Data science is an increasingly vital skill across many fields of society and industry, and Waseda University, which recently established the Center for Data Science, is training experts with the extensive knowledge and practical skills in data science required to tackle complex contemporary global issues.

This competition at Waseda was organized to encourage more students to explore this promising field. The teams have been challenged to create prediction models using publicly available data and will be judged based on the accuracy and originality of their data analysis. The winning team will be announced on July 27 and will receive a grand prize of 100,000 yen, with a variety of other prize categories also recognizing different strengths in the teams’ entries.

Event details

Waseda University Data Science Competition: Predict the results of Japan’s Upper House Election

Date & Time: July 27 (Sat), 2019; 14:30-17:30 (Doors open at 13:30)

*Students must submit their forecasts before polling day on July 21(Sun), 2019

Venue: Room 201, Building 14, Waseda Campus, Waseda University

Directions: https://www.waseda.jp/top/en/access/waseda-campus

Official Website: https://dswaseda.com/english/

Outline of the competition

The objective of this inaugural competition is to create the most accurate prediction for Japan’s Upper House Election on July 21 (Sun), 2019. Teams may use any publicly available data to create models that predict the parties’ vote shares for the proportional representation tier and the election outcome for candidates in the district tier of the election. The winners will be determined by the accuracy of the predictions and the evaluation of the prediction model by a panel of judges. Forecasts must be submitted before the polling day.

Teams are encouraged both to study and learn from well-established theories and methods of electoral forecasting, and to innovate using their own original ideas and hypotheses.

61 student teams with a total of 200 members have entered the competition. The top teams will be invited to present their models and methods in front of a panel of judges, with the grand prize and other prizes to be awarded to the best performing teams. In addition, all teams will give a poster presentation, and a poster prize will be determined mainly by popular votes from the audience.

The event will be held in both Japanese and English, with each team presenting their work in their preferred language.

Competition rules: https://dswaseda.com/english-rules/

IMPORTANT: Teams and event organizers are not allowed to publicly disclose their election forecasts until the election is over, as this would violate the Public Offices Election Law.

Timeline

23:59 (JST) on July 20, 2019: Deadline for prediction submission

July 21, 2019: Election Day

July 27, 2019: Presentations and Award Ceremony; Reception

     13:30: Venue opens, posters displayed

     14:30-16:30: Presentations by shortlisted teams

     16:30-17:00: Poster presentations by all teams

     17:00-18:00: Award Ceremony

     18:00~: Reception (Fee: 3000 yen; Pre-registration required)

Eligibility

Teams consist of undergraduate or graduate students from any school of Waseda University and students from Waseda University Senior High School and Honjo Senior High School. Each team contains at least two and no more than four members.

Teams are encouraged to include a diverse range of members in order to get different ideas and perspectives on the challenges involved in the competition. A special prize will be awarded to a strongly-performing team which includes a mixture of members of different genders, nationalities, ages, or academic backgrounds, or which includes members of minority groups.

Prize

Grand Prize: ¥100,000

SPSE Prize: ¥50,000

ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Prize (Best Undergraduate & High School Student Team): Fitbit (One per person)

ADK Prize (Poster Prize): Amazon Echo Spot (One per person)

Data Scientist Fes 2019 Prize (Presentation Prize): Tosho Card (¥20,000 yen per person)

Hitachi Prize (PR Tier Best Prediction): Disneyland Pair Ticket (One per person)

BrainPad Prize (District Tier Best Prediction): Amazon Gift Card (¥100,000)

Mizuho Bank Prize (Diversity Prize): Apple TV (One per person)

Organizers and Sponsors

Main Organizers: Center for Data Science; Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University

Sponsors: ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation; ADK Marketing Solutions Inc.; Nikkei Inc; BrainPad Inc.; Mizuho Bank, Ltd.

Co-organizers: Waseda Society of Political Science and Economics; Center for Positive/Empirical Analysis of Political Economy, Top Global University Project; Waseda Institute of Political Economy (WINPEC); Waseda Institute of Social Media Data (WISDOM)

Supporter: Waseda University D-DATa Program

About the Center for Data Science

Established in December 2017, the Center for Data Science (CDS) maximizes Waseda’s strengths as a comprehensive research university and integrates knowledge from the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences with data science. The purpose of CDS is to train data science experts who can create new knowledge and tackle complex global issues, as well as to leverage the overall research capabilities at Waseda University.

Website: https://www.waseda.jp/inst/cds/

About the Center for Positive/Empirical Analysis of Political Economy

The Center for Positive/Empirical Analysis of Political Economy, funded by MEXT’s Top Global University Project, was established to systematically offer educational programs which meet the highest global standards in the fields of political science, economics, and managerial economics for students and researchers who can contribute to the global society as global citizens.

Website: https://www.waseda.jp/eape/en/index.php

Inquiries:

Center for Data Science

Tel：03-9164-3204

E-mail：cds-pse-compe@list.waseda.jp