UNF’s Florida Data Science for Social Good program hosts ‘Big Reveal’ event
The University of North Florida’s Florida Data Science for Social Good (FL-DSSG) program will host its Big Reveal event to present data-driven decisions for addressing issues facing three local non-profits: the Barnabas Center, League of Women Voters of Florida and the Jewish Family and Community Services.
UNF student interns will discuss findings and reveal insights from targeted research projects that will help improve and transform the work of the three social service organizations. The Zoom webinar event takes place at 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 17; register to attend.
The projects include analyzing impacts of health services on emergency department utilization for the Barnabas Center; finding insights to improve voter participation for the League of Women Voters of Florida; and identifying patterns and trends in the counseling department billing and scheduling processes for Jewish Family and Community Services.
Now in its fifth year, UNF’s innovative FL-DSSG program blends data science and technology design to inform and solve critical social problems. Students engage in data-rich projects and present data-driven solutions that can have substantial, lasting social impact for the participating organizations.
The intensive 12-week internship supports seven student interns from multi-disciplinary backgrounds under the guidance of Dr. Dan Richard, psychology associate professor, and Dr. Karthikeyan Umapathy, School of Computing associate professor, with numerous industry and faculty mentors. The industry mentors are leaders from various local companies and organizations who mentor interns on industry best practices, advise program directors on work plans and provide technical guidance on project tasks. Faculty leads provide their subject-matter expertise on project tasks and engagement with community partners.
The students receive incredible real-world experience with data management, analysis, technology and addressing community needs while the participating non-profits gain extremely valuable data knowledge to support their missions.
The 2021 FL-DSSG Internship is supported by the Jacksonville Jaguar Foundation and FIS Distinguished Professorship Award.
To date, UNF’s FL-DSSG has helped 18 local organizations find data solutions and is making a substantial impact on understanding and improving some substantial societal concerns. For more information on the program’s history and how to get involved, visit the FL-DSSG website.