DSSI Datathon
Connecting Data and Community
Datathons are a key part of DSSI, giving students the chance to use their skills on real-world problems that matter to communities. With data provided by local organizations and global partners, students learn how to analyze information and share it in ways that are clear, ethical, and useful for decision-making. These events are more than competitions, they are training grounds for students to become leaders who understand how to use data responsibly for the public good. The goal is for students to walk away with stronger technical and teamwork skills, and also with insightful solutions that partners can apply to pressing issues in health, climate, education, and equity. By doing so, datathons build bridges between Harvey Mudd and the wider community, showing how data can create real social impact.
Spring 2026 Datathon
Saturday, February 21, 2026
9 a.m.–7 p.m.
Platt Campus Center, The Green Room
340 E. Foothill Blvd
Claremont, CA 91711
The Harvey Mudd College Innovation Accelerator Laboratory for Data Science for Social Impact (DSSI) is hosting our second annual student datathon! Students can register in teams of two to three to work on exploring and visualizing trends in global health, population and nutrition. The two teams judged to have the most compelling results at the end of the day will receive a cash prize of $100/teammate. The only experience expected is some kind of coding up of data visualization. If you’ve ever made a plot in Python or R, you’re good to go. The dataset is new this year, so participants in last year’s datathon are welcome to participate again.
Registration is free for all 5C students. For more information, reach out to dssi-datathon-l@g.hmc.edu
Interested community based organizations and other organizations please contact Gabriela Gamiz, director of civic & community engagement, 909.607.4575 or ggamiz@hmc.edu
Past Datathons
Spring 2025 Datathon
March 29, 2025
Problem statement: Explore World Bank data on the Millennium Development Goals to uncover trends and design visualizations that help others understand and act on pressing global challenges.
Winners: Harvey Mudd’s Kavi Dey ’26, Alicia Luo ’26 and Alyssa Sawyer ’26
Join us for the Next Datathon
Does your organization deal with data? Partner with us in a Datathon. Datathons give students the chance to work with real-world data sets involving issues in their local community. These events prepare students to become socially engaged data scientists while generating insights that benefit organizations and communities.