Soar into Data: 7 Wonders of the World Datathon Recap

Soar into Data 2025: Reflecting on Melissa for Education's Sponsorship

This past weekend, data enthusiasts gathered at Data@UCI's annual datathon, Soar into Data: 7 Wonders of the World Datathon, held from April 11-13. As a proud, recurring sponsor, Melissa for Education was present to support emerging data professionals, provide valuable resources and collaborate with the next generation of data-driven innovators.

Melissa for Education at Soar into Data

With a bright display of Melissa merchandise and a constant flow of engaged attendees, the energy remained high throughout the weekend. From the moment the datathon began on Saturday, April 12, a steady line formed at the Melissa for Education table. Participants helped themselves to Melissa hats, tote bags, and notebooks while discovering more about our robust data quality and enrichment solutions. Beyond the Melissa swag, attendees had the opportunity to explore Melissa’s data portal, gaining practical experience with real-world datasets that could be utilized for their datathon project. Our team Ha Phan, Anna Cheong, Jason Zhang, Ashley You and Daniel K. Le, Chief Data Officer, was available to answer questions, provide insights and discuss how Melissa’s data solutions are integral to industries ranging from healthcare to finance.

Keynote Speech by CDO

A highlight of the event was the keynote speech delivered by Daniel K. Le, Chief Data Officer, from Melissa. Addressing a full lecture hall, he shared insights into the evolving landscape of data quality, the significance of clean and enriched data, and how Melissa continues to drive innovation in the field. His talk offered attendees insights on industry opportunities and Melissa for Education's commitment to students.

Melissa’s Data Challenge: And the Winner Is…

In our commitment to fostering data excellence, Melissa for Education presented a unique data challenge: "The Traveling Student Problem" for participants to tackle during the datathon. Given a set of addresses around UCI, the challenge instructed participants to find associated Melissa Address Keys, provide residential/business status, and locate geo-coordinates, along with finding the shortest route to hit all addresses and come back to the original point. Teams worked diligently to solve the challenge using Melissa’s powerful data sets or APIs, competing for an array of prizes. This year’s winning team impressed our judges with their take on the Traveling Student Problem. Congratulations to winners: Shrushti Mehta, Dharmik Naicker and Yash Deole, who received a Melissa backpack, a branded water bottle, a navy Melissa hat, a $40 Amazon gift card, 40,000 credits (valued at $160) for Melissa Lookups and Cloud APIs, and an exclusive visit to Melissa HQ! To view all Melissa project submissions, click here.

Looking Ahead

Soar into Data 2025 was an unforgettable experience, and Melissa Education is proud to have contributed to the event’s success. As we continue to champion data literacy and innovation, we look forward to future opportunities to connect with students, researchers and professionals passionate about harnessing the power of data. Thank you to Data @ UCI for organizing another outstanding datathon, and to all the participants who made this event a resounding success. Until next year, keep soaring into data!