Yango, Zindi and local universities power another year of data science learning through hackathons
Problem
Yango Group partnered once again with Zindi to leverage the power of machine learning and engage the data science community through the Urban Mobility Prediction Hackathon Series 2024. The hackathon series aimed to put realtime data to use to help aspiring data scientists and AI engineers across Zambia, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire improve their machine learning skills by working on real-world problems.
Solution
The Urban Mobility Prediction Hackathon Series 2024 featured three events held in Zambia, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, engaging 508 data scientists, including 119 first-timers. Participants were tasked with building machine learning models to predict urban mobility patterns using traffic pattern data. Partnerships with leading universities in each country allowed students to gather in a physical location to engage with one another and experience the exciting buzz of a hackathon.
The winners demonstrated innovation and technical skill on the day to take home their prizes. In Zambia, Earl Johnson from the University of Lusaka won first prize using a LightGBM model, emphasising feature importance visualisation to enhance model insights. In Ghana, Ronny Polle, a medical doctor from the University of Development Studies, claimed first prize by employing stratified folds for training and unique feature engineering techniques. And in Côte d’Ivoire, Aboubacar Sidick from Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny secured first place by focusing on feature aggregation and temporal context for traffic modeling.
Impact
The hackathon series connected students and data scientists from across Africa with Yango, and exposed them to fascinating real-world challenges in data science for mobility. The competition also opened access to a new talent pool of data scientists, providing Yango with potential recruits and collaborators for future projects.
“We are thrilled to see how the hackathon series has empowered data scientists across Africa to tackle real-world challenges,” said Celina Lee, CEO and co-founder of Zindi. “Our partnership with Yango exemplifies how collaboration between industry and the data science community can drive impactful solutions and foster talent development across the continent.”
Conclusion
The partnership between Zindi and Yango underscored the potential of AI and data science in solving complex urban challenges and the power of collaboration in fostering data and AI talent. By fostering a competitive and collaborative environment, the hackathon series not only advanced Yango’s business objectives but also contributed to the skill development of budding data scientists across Africa.
