KDI School held a fascinating Data Science Poster Session in December 2023. This vibrant event showcased the transformative power of data science in addressing real-world challenges. Organized by the KDIS Learning Innovation Division, the session invited attendees to explore creative solutions using insights derived from data.

The highlight of the event was the Data Science Undergraduate Contest, which included five teams from top Korean universities like Korea University, Chung-Ang University, and Han-Nam University. These undergraduate students studied a wide range of subjects, from navigating Fukushima’s waves to proposals for the future direction of South Korea’s Official Development Assistance. Their projects aimed to provide actionable insights for policymakers, offering the potential for impactful policy implementation to enhance people's lives.

In addition, the Data Science Capstone included intriguing topics by the students from KDIS.  Predictive modeling was used to analyze anti-corruption sentiments in European nations, and studies examined the connection between international trade networks and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the Korean economy. Every initiative aimed to use data science techniques to address important social challenges and reveal insightful information.

Three interesting themes from the Machine Learning for Social Scientists Session enhanced the conversation even more. In-depth analyses of economic advancement, time series analysis for air quality control, comprehensive analysis of key drivers of economics progress, and an exciting machine learning-based investigation of tobacco smoking were all explored by the participants.

Clement, a KDIS MPM student and one of the participants from KDIS aptly emphasized, “Data science is essential to policymaking because it enables evidence-based decision-making. Our ability to examine complicated social issues more successfully has increased with the emergence of social data from multiple sources and increased processing capacity. A combination of statistics, programming, and social science is needed to extract useful policy insights from this data.”

The poster session dedicated to data science served as a vast source of insights into the diverse landscape of data analysis and interpretation. It provided an immersive experience where participants encountered  a range of leading-edge techniques, inventive problem-solving methods, and real-world applications across industries. This collective showcase vividly demonstrated the transformative power of data-driven insights, fostering innovation, empowering decision-making, and offering robust solutions to intricate challenges encountered in various sectors.

In addition to being a showcase, the event acted as a testing ground for group creativity and learning, imagining a society enabled by insights derived from data. This highlighted the efforts to use data science's revolutionary power to create a society that is better informed and powerful.

In conclusion, the KDIS Data Science Poster Session provided a glimpse  into a future where data-driven insights drive social progress and development by demonstrating how data science is a keystone in shaping evidence-based policy and promoting innovation.