The Data Science Nigeria 2018 Inter-Campus Machine Learning (ML) Competition is a program designed to raise a generation of data scientists and Artificial Intelligence experts from all Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics.
Artificial intelligence and its various extensions in machine learning and big data will revolutionize the future, and it is important that academic curriculum is tailor-made to serve this purpose. We must ensure the most up-to-date and high-quality learning opportunities are available to prepare Nigerians for the well-paying earning opportunities of the future. This also complements the discourse on the need to make Nigerian graduates job-ready with the right skillsets, knowledge and expertise for the opportunities that the marketplace requires both locally and internationally.
Machine learning has also evolved to become the platform for more disruptive and high-impact multidisciplinary research. Every researcher will need hands-on mastery of machine learning to be able to apply it and solve problems within their domain of subject matter expertise.
This is the rationale behind this learning-oriented competition with a sense of healthy competition between universities and polytechnics across the country.
We believe that after this competition more Nigerian students will be interested in learning R or Python programming languages and hands-on machine learning principles.
Benefits
- 1,000,000 naira (1 million Naira) in prize money for the top 3 winners
- Get yourself ready for world’s No 1 career – Data Science.
- Prepare yourself for a highly respected, well-paying career in Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence and learn how this is applicable in every discipline or career path you choose.
- You can make a difference. Help Nigeria to become a world leader in machine learning, deep learning and big data.
- Be part of an all-expense-paid learning Bootcamp
How to participate
- Confirm your interest in participating in this competition by filling in the form via this hyperlink: here
- Kick off your learning online by completing 2 free Microsoft Data Science preparatory courses in either Python or R routes between July 2nd and September 9th. You can access the learning materials via the hyperlinks below:
S/N Python route R route 1 Introduction to Python for data science Introduction to R for data science 2 Principle of Machine Learning You can study the materials in groups and/or attend all the special classes that will be held at the AIHub in person or via online channels. After the study, submit your completion certificates and/or score sheet by email to info@datasciencenigeria.org or datasciencenigeria@gmail.com. All entries received on or before 9 September 2018 will qualify for the Kaggle competition. After you submit your completion certificates you will be given a unique link to participate in the Kaggle competition. This link is for you and cannot be shared with anyone else.
- Next, you will get to participate in a Regression Kaggle competition September 10-24 2018. Please note that you cannot do this as a group. Every submission must be an individual submission. Any act of collusion or group cheating will lead to disqualification of all the parties involved.
- There will a telephone validation quiz September 25-30 2018 to authenticate the Kaggle submission made by each participant.
- The top 75 participants shall be invited to the Bootcamp held from 10 to 15 October 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria.
- Food, accommodation and lectures – FREE
- Special consideration for female competitors (at least 20% from the current 6.2%).
- The Bootcamp will include further activities and a hackathon to determine the overall best machine learning students. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finalists will earn prizes with a total value of 1 million naira. The Bootcamp organiser’s selection of participants will be final.
