The first edition of the Data Science Summer School gathered 12 secondary school students from 19 to 23 July 2021 on Belval campus to learn more about data science. They enjoyed a lot the interactive activities and the exchanges with mathematicians from the University.
The event was organised by the Department of Mathematics (DMATH) at the University of Luxembourg in the frame of the ERA Chair in Mathematical Statistics and Data Science (SanDAL) and with the support of the Scienteens Lab.
From theory to practice
Secondary school students had the opportunity to learn more about four topics: information theory, probability, artificial intelligence and statistical learning. Different interactive classes, exercise sessions, visits and informal discussions have punctuated the week.
Firstly, they discovered information theory, a mathematical concept dealing with the transmission of data and information through communication channels with Thierry Meyrath and Bruno Teheux, respectively education programme specialist and research scientist.
Secondly, students understood how to better interpret and model data such as the spread of Covid-19 by using probabilistic and statistical tools with Hélène Halconruy, postdoctoral researcher.
Then, they studied artificial intelligence in games and more specifically agent movement, path planning, decision making, goal-oriented behaviour, learning, and procedural content generation with George Kerchev, postdoctoral researcher.
During the fourth session, students exchanged with Guillaume Maillard, postdoctoral researcher, about making accurate predictions with the help of modelling assumptions.
The last day was dedicated to the preparation and presentation of what they had learned during the week, under the supervision of Thierry Meyrath and Bruno Teheux.
In addition, they had the opportunity to visit the Restena facilities with Bruno Teheux and guided by Gilles Massen, director of Restena. Students discovered the transmission of information in the Luxembourgish network and the coding of data for the fiber-optic cable.
Positive feedback
The organisers are very satisfied with this first edition “Despite the current pandemic situation, we have succeeded in organising the event on site. Students were really interested, asked a lot of questions, we were very impressed by their level in mathematics and their readiness to learn”, comments Prof. Antonella Perucca, coordinator of the project.
Students were really enthusiasts about this event. Another edition is already planned for 2022.