MinneMUDAC 2026: Student Data Science Challenge

MinneAnalytics is a 501c6 nonprofit organization of professionals in Data Science and Emerging Tech. Co-founders: Dan Atkins, Sean Larson, Glenn Trygstad, and Board of Directors: John Hogue, Graeme Thickins

MinneAnalytics

Inviting graduate and undergraduate student teams to explore data to solve real-world problems while enhancing and showcasing their skills.

St. Catherine University

This year, MinneAnalytics is partnering with The Food Group to take on food insecurity. Join us for this unique collaboration between students, their academic advisors, and professionals from the community.Call for Judges: We still need volunteers to serve as judges/mentors! Volunteers must be available in person from 9am-noon on Saturday, Oct 17. <h3>The Challenge</h3>The MinneMUDAC 2026 client is The Food Group. The challenge and data will be introduced during the first Zoom Meeting on Thursday, September 17 at 4pm CT. Registered advisors and students will receive an email with a link to join the meeting. The webinar will be recorded and accessible to all registered teams.Student teams have one month to analyze data before presenting their findings to judges from the analytics community at the main event on Oct. 17 Teams with the highest scores move on to the finals. Cash prizes are awarded to top teams in each division. More is required of teams in higher divisions to complete the challenge.<a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SsKloflFD5b8Exe1vFbu-0bSgVY6qgYW?usp=sharing" title="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SsKloflFD5b8Exe1vFbu-0bSgVY6qgYW?usp=sharing" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Access 2026 Challenge Materials→</a>Competition Launch Webinar recording: <a href="https://youtu.be/sISZoYTh1SY" title="https://youtu.be/sISZoYTh1SY" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/sISZoYTh1SY</a><h3>Presenting Your Findings</h3>Student teams will present their findings on Saturday, Oct. 17. During the first round (9 am-noon), teams have five minutes to present their model to a series of judging teams. Judges will also have the opportunity to ask questions of each team. Student teams should expect to pitch 4-6 times with each interaction lasting 7-12 minutes. After breaking for lunch, the finalists will present to all the judges.<h3>Want to participate? Put together your team following the guidelines below! We recommend the faculty or staff advisor register for the entire team if possible.</h3> <h2>Guidelines</h2>Who is invited?<ul><li>Students: Undergraduate and graduate students welcome. Please note that you must enter the team name and name/email of a faculty or staff advisor to register. See team guidelines below.</li><li>Faculty/Staff Advisors: Each team requires a faculty or staff advisor to provide guidance throughout the challenge. One advisor may advise up to three student teams. Advisors assisting more than one team must register for each team.</li><li>Judges/Mentors: Share your experience with the next generation of analytics professionals. Industry professionals who would like to judge and provide mentorship may register by selecting the “Judge/Mentor” ticket option. For more information, see the "Judges/Mentors" section below.</li></ul>Team Guidelines<ul><li>Each team requires a faculty or staff advisor to register as well as provide support throughout the competition.</li><li>Teams are limited to five students and one faculty or staff advisor.</li><li>Colleges and universities outside of Minnesota are encouraged to participate.</li><li>MinneAnalytics is able to provide Friday night accommodations for teams traveling two hours or more; however the number of rooms available is limited. The team faculty advisor must request accommodations during initial registration.</li><li>More than one team from the same college or university may participate. Individual students may only join one team. There is a limit to three teams from the same college department.</li><li>Blended teams of students with different majors and skill-sets are encouraged.</li></ul>Competition Divisions<ul><li>Graduate Division: For teams with advanced data management, programming, and statistical / analytic skills that support deep analytical insights, and predictive modeling. Participants in the Graduate Division are expected to propose policies that guide action. Any team with one or more graduate students will automatically be placed in the Graduate Division.</li><li>Undergraduate Division: For undergraduate teams with some experience in data management, programming, and statistical / analytic skills to support predictive modeling. Participants in the undergraduate division are expected to have a basic understanding of how findings inform policy recommendations.</li><li>Novice Division: For students early in their studies who have limited analytical experience and have little data management, data programming and statistical/analytic skills. Participants in the novice division are not expected to translate their findings into policy recommendations. Any team whose undergraduate data science program is less than two years old may participate in the Novice division.</li></ul>Please note the Graduate division is not intended for career professionals with extensive experience. We welcome seasoned data pros to participate as competition judges and mentors, not as competitors.<h4>Division level is chosen by the team’s faculty or staff advisor during registration.</h4> Judges/MentorsParticipation from professionals from the analytics community is key to the success of the MinneMUDAC competition.Judges/Mentors are grouped into small teams of 3 or 4 (ideally with a business professional, a technologist, and an academic to create a blended mentoring team).If you are a business professional who's been pitched a presentation before, a technologist who understands computer science and/or math/stats, or an academic who regularly engages students, then you are qualified to be on a judging team.Judges must be available on Saturday, Oct. 17 from 9am-noon. <h4>Competition guidelines, details, and timeline are still being finalized and are subject to change.</h4>MinneMUDAC 2026 is co-produced by <a href="https://minneanalytics.org/" title="https://minneanalytics.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">MinneAnalytics</a> and the Midwest Undergraduate Data Analytics Competition (MUDAC).All participants are expected to abide by the <a href="https://minneanalytics.org/minnemudac-2026/code-of-conduct/" title="https://minneanalytics.org/minnemudac-2026/code-of-conduct/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">MinneMUDAC 2026 Code of Conduct</a> and the MinneAnalytics <a href="https://minneanalytics.org/code-of-conduct/" title="https://minneanalytics.org/code-of-conduct/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Code of Conduct</a>.PLEASE NOTE: MinneAnalytics requires a Driver's license or government-issued photo ID for entrance at all events.

MinneMUDAC 2026: Student Data Science Challenge

More events from MinneAnalytics

Discover more events from MinneAnalytics, from Science & Tech to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Saint Paul and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.

MinneMUDAC 2026: Student Data Science Challenge

More events from MinneAnalytics

Discover more events from MinneAnalytics, from Science & Tech to other experiences you might love.

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Saint Paul and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.