SDS Graduate Student Wins First Place in Local Hackathon

Data Science and Business Analytics (DSBA) graduate student, Ibrokhim, “Abe” Sadikov was awarded first place in the open track competition during the third annual Queen City Hackathon, on February 22nd.

During the 24-hour competition, more than 20 teams of students and data science professionals were tasked with creating data-driven solutions to help Leading on Charlotte address issues of economic mobility and segregation facing the region.

Sadikov, the only competitor to work alone, created a web application featuring automated machine learning capabilities to help nonprofits streamline their efforts by using data analytics to rank factors that impact economic mobility.

“The main problem I tried to solve was how machines actually measure economic mobility,” Sadikov said. “I tried to understand how to mathematically represent economic mobility as a number, so computers could analyze the data and make an accurate prediction.

“When they announced I was a finalist, I was shocked. I couldn’t have done it without guidance from my competition advisors and the knowledge I gained from my Visual Analytics and Advanced Business Analytics courses.”

To learn more about the 2020 Queen City Hackathon here.