15.572  Analytics Lab (A-Lab)

Please Read - Four Important Reminders

Hi A-Lab Students,

I hope you had a nice holiday! Four homestretch reminders:

1. Optional Session: 11/30

Daniel Rock and Sebastian Steffen will demo TensorFlow and RNN this Thursday (11/30), 4:00-5:30pm, in E62-276. They will also be available to answer any specific questions you bring to the session.

2. Final Presentations: Slides Due 12/8, 10:00am

Please submit your Final Presentations slides (in PowerPoint or PDF format) to Prateek and your mentor by 10:00am on 12/8. It is important that you submit your decks by that time to ensure that we give the AV folks enough opportunity to load them on the in-room machine and test them out before the session begins.

Note that you are required to share your slides and final report with your project sponsor with enough lead time for them to review for inadvertent disclosure of Confidential Information.

3. Final Presentations: 12/8 Session Logistics and Judging Criteria

Friday, December 8
MIT Samberg Conference Center
50 Memorial Drive, Floor 6 (http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=E52)
12:00-12:30pm Lunch and Opening Remarks
12:30-4:45pm Presentations
4:45-6:00pm Closing Comments and Reception

** If you have a scheduling constraint that requires your team to present during a particular window that afternoon, please let me know as soon as possible. **

Teams will have five minutes each to present their work and three minutes for Q&A. The audience will include all students, mentors, and faculty; representatives from project sponsoring organizations; and a few “celebrity judges”.

These judges will use the following criteria to guide their evaluations:

- Technical/Analytical: How creative or advanced were the techniques used?

- Level of Effort: How much improvement was sought / how many different techniques were attempted before the team selected the one that seemed best?

- Business Impact: Beyond the impressive data analytics described, how clearly did the team convey the bottom-line, real-world impact of their findings?

- Presentation: How informative and interesting was the presentation itself and how well was it delivered?

4. Final Report: Due 12/15, 11:59pm

Your team's final report (10 pages maximum, 3000 words, not including figures or references) should consider feedback received during Final Presentations on 12/8. Each team should submit one document to Prateek and your mentor.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Best,
Susan

Announced on 27 November 2017  8:00  a.m. by Susan Young

Optional Sessions: 11/16 & 11/30

Hi A-Lab Students,

As mentioned in class last week, we will host two optional "office hour"-type sessions, designed to be a combination of demo and Q&A on the following:

11/16 - Missing Values with Dave Holtz

11/30 - TensorFlow and RNN with Daniel Rock and Sebastian Steffen

These sessions will take place during normal class time (4:00-5:30pm), in our normal room (E62-276).

Please consider attending either or both sessions and bring your questions, as well as your own expertise!

See you then.

Best,
Susan

Announced on 13 November 2017  2:46  p.m. by Susan Young

Mid-Point Presentations 11/2 and 11/9; Slides Due 11/2, 10:00am

Hi A-Lab Students,

A reminder to submit your mid-point presentations slides to your assigned mentor and Prateek by 10:00am on Thursday, November 2.

In class that afternoon (and the following Thursday), 12 teams will have 5 minutes each to present with a minute or two for questions/discussion. Team presentation order will be announced at the beginning of class, so please arrive ready to present.

The main point of these sessions is to help illuminate issues common across teams in order to foster collaboration and help us identify any pain points or problems that we can solve ahead of the Final Presentations session on December 8.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Susan

Announced on 31 October 2017  11:16  a.m. by Susan Young

Special Event This Friday: The Truth About Fake News (7:00-8:30pm, E52, 7th Floor)

Hi A-Lab Students,

We’d be thrilled to have you join us for a special Fireside Panel event this Friday, October 27, 7:00-8:30pm at E52 Samberg Conference Center, 7th Floor.

Details below.

Best,
Susan

____

The Truth About Fake News

It sometimes seems like a lie can get to Russia and back again while the truth is still putting on its shoes. As social media has become the way that more and more people get their news and other information, how can we address the problem of fake news? Is it really getting worse? What’s driving it? What are the implications? And what should we do about it? This panel will bring together some of world’s leading experts on this topic to explain the latest research. We can expect lively conversation and lots of interaction with the audience.

The session features panelists Sinan Aral (MIT), David Lazer (Northeastern), and Zeynep Tufekci (UNC); Erik Brynjolfsson (MIT) will serve as moderator.

Announced on 25 October 2017  5:25  p.m. by Susan Young

MIT IDE Inclusive Innovation Challenge Celebration on Oct 12

Please join me and many other MIT folks at the MIT IDE Inclusive Innovation Challenge Celebration. This evening showcase and gala event culminates the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy's $1 million prize program for Inclusive Innovators, global organizations that are using technology to reinvent the future of work and create an economy that works for the many and not just the few.

During the Celebration on October 12 at 6pm, leaders in the Inclusive Innovation movement will deliver talks, focused on how to ensure that the benefits of digital progress are shared by all. Featured speakers include Eric Schmidt (Executive Chairman of Alphabet, Inc.), Sheila Marcelo (Founder and CEO of Care.com), Leila Janah (Founder and CEO of Sama Group and LXMI), and FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. The Grand Prize Winners in the Inclusive Innovation Challenge will be announced, providing specific examples of approaches that are working today. Register in advance for this free event.

EVENT PROMO VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMB2sVyHM_k

Announced on 05 October 2017  9:52  a.m. by Erik Brynjolfsson