A Wiz at Data Viz? Join the Challenge!

Data, data, everywhere — and too much for us to think.

Or to visualise.

How can data help predict a crime? Or perhaps help you find your dream home?

If you have a fascinating story to tell about data making a difference in your lives, we have a challenge for you.

It’s the National Data Viz Video Challenge, with the theme of “How Open Data makes a difference for you and me”.

It invites you to share in a visually apt way, how open data can help improve daily decision-making, or the quality-of-life for your loved ones.

The competition runs from now until late September 2017.

Note: A pre-briefing was held on 17 February, 6pm to 9pm, at Microsoft Singapore, Level 21 Auditorium, 1 Marina Boulevard. Presentation slides for the briefing can be found here.

Still wondering why you should take part? Here are the best reasons why you should:

1. Because you love talking data

Analysing government datasets from Singapore Government open data portals, such as data.gov.sg or LTA Datamall and other publicly available data sources, is second nature to you. And your motto is, ‘Data is sexy!’.

2. Because you are creative

You understand the data deep enough to create an impactful visualisation video that tells a story that can move people. Or you’re just really that good with graphs, charts and videos.

3. Because you are a tertiary student

The competition is open to students from Singapore-based Institutions of Higher Learning and Junior Colleges. So if you are a student, all we can say is, ‘Lucky You!’.

4. Because you like going at it alone

You can participate individually, or do it the ‘going solo’ way as most boybands will say. That’s right, you want to be the Justin Timberlake of data visualisation and say ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ to the other guys in the band.

5. Because you like teamwork

Or you can form a team of up to 4 persons within your institution or even from other institutions, because you work well together.

It’s cool to be n’sync with your teammates slash friends from other schools. We know, you can’t stop this feeling.

6. Because you don’t like competitions with too many rounds

There will be just two rounds of Judging – the Qualifying and Challenge Rounds.

For the Qualifying Round, you just need to submit storyboards.

Selected individuals and teams will then advance to the Challenge Round, where they will create and present their visualisation videos.

So again, just two rounds to clear.

7. Because you love winning prizes

The top three videos for the Challenge will be awarded prizes. So no surprises there, but allow us to reprise: there are prizes for the best data visualisations (more details will be made available soon, we promise).

We hope to inspire all Singaporeans to innovate with data. What story will you choose to tell?

We can’t wait to discover.

Visit the National Data Viz Challenge website for all the details. Good luck!

This story was updated on Feb 27, 2017.