Data Science Week 2026

June 15, 2026— June 22, 2026

What is the Data Science Week?

The goal of the data science week is to introduce interested students and staff to data science in a fun and cooperative way, and help create a community of data scientists at the University of Twente, the faculty of Behavioural and Management Sciences, and beyond. BDSi and DSI organize various events during the week, including a datathon, contextual speakers, expert lectures, hands-on workshops, and a networking drink.

Experienced research data scientists will provide lectures on the most important tools in a data scientists’ toolbox; data wrangling, modelling, and communicating results. These lectures will be structured to support the datathon materials, but can be attended without participating in the datathon itself. The lectures are followed by a hands-on practical session in which the lunch lecturerer - supported by a team of motivated coaches - will guide participants in applying the lecture materials to their datathon submissions.

Expert (guest) speakers will be hosting lunch talks during the week to provide a deeper background and give context to the topics and methods covered in the lectures and datathon. Throughout the week there will be ample time for socialization and networking, as well as a poster presentation session and networking drink on Thursday afternoon.

Datathon

A datathon is an event in which teams collaborate and compete to create a solution to a shared problem. By learning from experts and peers and immediately applying your skills on a relevant and engaging real-world dataset, the BDSi datathons provide a great environment for both students and staff, beginners and experts to further hone their skills. For the 2026 datathon, we have prepared a dataset of academic papers and citations, and will cover complex systems, network science, and the determinants of academic success.

Speakers

(Almost) every lunch break (12:45 - 13:30), expert speakers from across the University of Twente and beyond will give talks on various topics surrounding complex systems, network science, author networks, citation indices, and academic success. From a broad overview of the roots and likely future of the field, practical applications for social research, to legal and ethical implications - there is something here for everyone to enjoy. All the talks are meant to broaden and enrich the discussion around the data science week, and can be enjoyed with or without participating in the datathon or any of the workshops.

Lectures & Practicals

In the afternoon (13:45 - 15:30, Tuesday - Friday) expert data scientists from BDSi and our partners will provide a lecture on the most important tools in a data scientists’ toolbox; data wrangling, feature engineering, modelling, and communicating results. These lectures will be structured to support the datathon materials, but can be attended without participating in the datathon itself.

After a short coffee break, the lecture will be followed by a hands-on practical session (~14:45 - 15:30). During these this time, the lecturer - supported by a team of motivated coaches - will support participants in applying the lecture materials to their datathon submissions. While these sessions are meant to accompany the days’ lecture, they can be attended by any datathon participants. Coaches will be on hand to answer any questions about the days’ lecture, the datathon, or data science in general.

Posters & Drinks

On thursday afternoon, we invite all data science week participants as well as anyone interested in data science at the University of Twente to join us for a poster presentation and drinks. This is a great opportunity to mingle with the other teams, and create lasting connections with peers and data science experts!

Certificates & TGS credits

All participants in the Datathon will get a signed certicifate of participation, listing the lectures and workshops they attended. PhD candidates (and of course PdEng, etc.) who attend the lectures and workshops and participated in the datathon receive a Twente Graduate School (TGS) certificate for 0.5 ECTS.

Competition

The team with the best solution will receive the coveted BDSi Data Science trophy. All teams will also be asked to share their solutions, problems, and learning experience during the final presentations.

Who can join?

Staff, students, family, and friends

Everyone related to the University of Twente and their friends and family can join any of the events during the Data Science Week. The lunch talks in particular are meant to be open to everyone who has an interest in the topic.

The datathon is open to both novices and experts, and everyone in between. You can join as a team, alone, or skip it altogether and only participate in the workshops. As long as one person in the team is affiliated with the University of Twente, you’re free (in fact, encouraged!) to invite friends, (external) colleagues, and/or family to join your team. If you do join alone, you can choose to be assigned to a team with other data science enthusiasts, or go at it alone.

What is required to compete in the datathon?

Some experience with R or Python

If you have some experience with other programming languages, you should be able to follow along with a little preparation. More information on installing and using R can be found in the What can I do to prepare for the datathon? section.

If you're new to programming in general or would like a deeper understanding of R, and would rather learn from one of our colleagues, the Cognition, Data and Education (CoDE) section provides courses and materials aimed at teaching staff and Johannes Steinrücke teaches half-day introduction to R and data visualization in R workshops for PhD's (and EngD's).

If you’re confident you can participate in the datathon in another programming language, you’re more than welcome to do so (we challenge you to try in C, Fortran, Brainf***, or JavaScript). Just be aware that we probably can’t offer support if or when you get stuck.

What can I do to prepare for the datathon?

Get a team

First off, get a team together. The datathon is meant to be a collaborative experience where you work alongside a variety of expertises. While you can compete on your own, we strongly suggest working together.

Further reading

If you’re looking for more information, a competitive edge, or just a good way to spend some time, we can recommend some more reading materials:

An Introduction to Statistical Learning is a free to download book providing an excellent introduction to practical machine learning using both R and Python.

R for Data Science is a free online book compiled by Hadley Wickham and a long list of community contributors, covering the whole gamut of modern data science in R. It is well worth a look, and a good reference even for experienced data scientists.

Kaggle.com provides resources to get started with Kaggle, as well as a long list of competitions that are approachable for beginners - with code and discussions available from hundreds of other participants. Trying your hand at a competition or two is a good way to spend a rainy weekend.

Schedule

The 2026 Data Science Week takes place from June 15th to June 22nd.

Further details will be made available in the coming weeks and months.