Description of Contest

Data Science Central (DSC) is excited to announce our competition to solve a new, interesting problem in statistical science, pertaining to stochastic processes. DSC members are invited and encouraged, to submit a theoretical solution or an application to real life problems, including but not limited to fintech, operations research, statistical science, computer science, economics, engineering, social, actuarial, biological or physical sciences.

The statistical process central to this competition is described in the original article, and participation is extended also to college students with an analytical background. This competition will give the participant an opportunity to understand and play with advanced concepts traditionally used by Wall Street gurus, and usually only accessible to a handful of Data Science “elite.” We have been very thoughtful in our approach in making all necessary material accessible to our large ever expanding global community, eliminating jargon and arcane theories, while maintaining our very high standards.

While there are potentially several approaches that can be employed in this competition -- one example being a machine learning framework leading to interesting results and/or applications, based on open data -- the door is open for creativity and sound Data Science applications to be explored. Now the fun part, the winner of this contest will win $2,000! This project should not involve more than 20 hours of work. Much of the work has been done by the author already, and many hints are provided in a detailed description via this link.

Source for picture: click here

The Problem:

To read the problem, and learn how to win the award, click here.

Official Rules:

All submissions must be received by 6:00 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on December 31, 2017. Any extension of the deadline will be made at our sole discretion, and will be announced on our website.

Submissions must be made by email to: [email protected]. Upon receipt of each submission, an email will be sent to the participant which requires confirmation of agreement to the terms and limitations of this contest. Submissions will not be considered until receipt from the participant (by return email) of confirmation of agreement to the terms and limitations of this contest, mentioned below.

Fine Print

Participants must be at least 18 years of age. By emailing your submission, you are verifying that you are at least 18 years of age. Any submissions by participants who are not at least 18 year of age are not eligible to receive the cash prize or to be featured on the DSC website. Payment and receipt of cash prize are subject to verification of age and identity.

This contest is open to all potential participants worldwide. However, if you reside outside of the United States, it if your responsibility to comply with any applicable laws. Void where prohibited.

The participant who submits the winning submission will receive a cash award of $2,000. At the sole discretion of DSC, a second place cash award of $1,000 may also be awarded to a different participant. A selection of submissions received by the deadline will be featured on the DSC website, reaching out to more than one million practitioners in the Industry, Government, and Academia. The selection of featured submissions will be at DSC’s sole discretion. The identities and submissions of the winner, the discretionary second prize winner, the participants who submit the submissions chosen by DSC to be featured and, if applicable, their organization(s), will be featured on the DSC website. The winner(s) of the cash prize(s) is/are solely responsible for any and all legal and tax liabilities arising therefrom.

Restrictions:

DSC employees and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate. All material and data sets used in the analysis must be shareable with the public, without infringing copyrights of third parties. Participants are solely responsible for obtaining copyright, patent, and/or other legal protection for their submissions. Submission constitutes a license to DSC to publish the submission on its website and elsewhere, giving participant credit for the submission. Participant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold DSC harmless in the event of a third party infringement of participant’s intellectual property or other rights arising from the submission, or in the event of a third party claim of infringement in connection with the submission and/or publication thereof. Submission also constitutes a grant to DSC of a license to participant’s publicity rights, such that participant’s identity and other information may be disclosed by DSC on its website and elsewhere in connection with the submission.

The contributions will be reviewed internally, and at the sole discretion of DSC, we may work with external reviewers to assess the value of submitted material. All material meeting our standards will be published at DSC’s sole discretion on the DSC website, however the participant(s) maintain sole ownership of their intellectual property (subject to the licenses granted DSC, as set forth above) and may re-use it in other publications.