In the tradition of previous Data Science Africa events, a summer school on machine learning and data science was held prior to the main workshop. This summer school targeted graduate students, researchers, and professionals working with large amounts of data or unique datasets.
The DSA Kimberley Summer School, hosted by Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley, was conducted virtually. The summer school included end-to-end tutorial sessions led by professionals who guided participants through introductory and advanced lectures in data science and machine learning, as well as moderate to advanced practical and tutorial sessions. Participants engaged hands-on in wrangling and cleaning datasets, applying cutting-edge machine learning techniques to derive insights from data.
To benefit fully from the course, participants were required to have some background in programming—particularly in Python and machine learning. The registration process included the submission of worked examples in Jupyter notebooks for a data science challenge. Details of the topics covered were provided on the schedule page.
The theme for the summer school was “Women and Data in Africa.” The program aimed to improve gender balance in data science across the continent by empowering women and encouraging men to reflect on their roles as allies. Women from all regions of Africa were strongly encouraged to participate.
All summer school attendees also joined the main workshop, which included additional speakers and participants.
The Summer School ran from 4th to 6th October 2021, and registration was open prior to the event.