Dakota State University’s 4th Annual Data Analytics Competition, hosted by the College of Business & Information Systems and Sanford Health, will take place this Monday, March 23 in East Hall. 

DSU’s Data Analytics Competition allows collegiate teams to evaluate big data sets and make data forecasts for real-world business needs while helping students grow their critical thinking, collaboration, and presentation skills.

This year’s problem statement, announced in December by Sanford Health, focuses on predicting emergency department demand. Using more than five years of historical data (and roughly 175,000 patient encounters across four large hospital emergency departments), teams will forecast when patients are likely to arrive by month, day of the week, and time block. Based on those forecasts, teams will also predict how many of those patients will ultimately be admitted to the hospital.

Four teams were chosen as finalists and will present their findings in 20-minute sessions to a team of judges. 

The public event for Monday’s competition begins at 1 p.m. in East Hall.