South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub

By Nikki Cabus

Largest Volunteer-Led Data Science Conference in Miami

Read Time 3 Minutes

PyData, an International Data Science Community, is Bringing Together Global Data Science Experts and Practitioners for Immersive One-Day Event.

The largest community-driven data science conference in Miami will be taking place on September 22nd, 2022, and is organized and staffed entirely by volunteers. The one-day event by PyData Miami, an international data science community with over 200 chapters, is spearheaded by NumFOCUS, a global non-profit organization that promotes open practices in research, data, and scientific computing.

PyData provides a forum for the international community of users and developers of data analysis tools to share ideas and learn from each other. The global PyData network promotes discussion of best practices, new approaches, and emerging technologies for data management, processing, analytics, and visualization. PyData communities approach data science using many languages, including (but not limited to) Python, Julia, and R.

Taking place at Ampersand Studios, PyData Miami will bring together international experts and enthusiasts to connect, share ideas and learn from each other. Programming will cater to newcomers and all levels of users and developers of data analysis tools.

The event is expected to attract 150 delegates and will feature local and international speakers. The schedule is jam-packed with PyData tutorials and talks that will bring attendees the latest project features along with cutting-edge use cases. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network and interact with some of the top experts in data science.

PyData Miami will help to educate attendees on:

  • Cutting-edge use cases, project features, and their practical applications in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning and Natural Language Processing

  • Data engineering, Machine Learning Operations (MLOps), and end-to-end Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps)

  • Ethics and responsibility in AI and how to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace

“Our data science community really wants to connect, hear brilliant talks and network, so we wanted to create an inspiring and accessible event where everyone feels they belong,” said Teodor Georgiev, data scientist, Gistia Healthcare and PyData Miami co-chair and meetup co-organizer.

“Our group of passionate enthusiasts in South Florida has continued to grow over the last six years since we started building our foundation here and Miami is the perfect place to have our conference. We can’t wait to get back together in person to learn from each other, solve problems and grow an even stronger open-source community.”

The conference boasts an action-packed schedule including the following talks:

  • “Responsible AI at Scale” presented by Noelle Silver Russell, Executive, IBM Consulting AI and Analytics, Founder of AI Leadership Institute

  • “Speed up your Machine Learning Applications with Lightning AI” by William Falcon, AI researcher and founder and CEO of Lightning AI

  • “Finding new drugs with AI and Reinforcement Learning” Aleksandra Kalisz, Senior Research Scientist, Exscientia, Oxford, U.K.

  • “Data Visualization: Reasons, Not Rules” by Alberto Cairo, Knight Chair in Visual Journalism, School of Communication, University of Miami

  • “Lessons in Diversity and Leadership: Driving Positive Change”: Panel discussion led by Brittany Fox, owner and co-founder of Focus Global Talent Solutions.

“I love that the community asked for this conference and I’ve so enjoyed working with such a passionate group of volunteers who are making the event happen. We wanted to be a part of bringing exceptional people together, to share ideas, learn and make the South Florida data science community even stronger,” said Brittany Fox, Co-Founder & COO of Focus Global Talent Solutions and speaker at PyData Miami.

The registration fee is $180 and all proceeds will go to NumFOCUS, who envision an inclusive scientific and research community that utilizes actively supported open source software to make impactful discoveries for a better world.

PyData Miami is proud to be part of Miami Machine Learning Week from September 20th – 23rd, which offers immersive industry talks, meetups, panels and much more.  

By Nikki Cabus

Industry leaders and researchers brought together for the FAU Data Science Conference

Read Time 3 Minutes

Back in person for the first time since the pandemic, the Florida Atlantic University Data-Driven Science & AI Conference brought together industry leaders, students, and researchers from multiple industries. This is the fourth conference for the Schmidt College of Science and the first year the conference attracted support from the National Science Foundation!

“The conference was reshaped this year to meet the growth of the Schmidt College of Science as well as the dynamic tech, data and AI community we work with in South Florida,” said William Kalies, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Conference Chair. “The funding provided by the NSF enabled us to conduct this conference again and provide opportunities for our local industry to interact with our researchers and students to spark future collaborations, internship and career opportunities.”

Throughout the day-long event, participants had the opportunity to attend two panel discussions, six themed minisymposium sessions, ranging from the use of AI in chemistry and molecular medicine to the urban applications of data science, enjoy a student research poster competition, learn about opportunities in the community through Tech Hub South Florida, and had multiple opportunities for learning and networking.

Twenty-six students from FAU High School and FAU’s undergraduate and graduate programs exhibited their research at the conference. Three students, Kayla Ahlness, Dawn Raja Somu, and Deepika Regmi, earned recognition for their studies from faculty judges.

The conference included two sponsored panel sessions by South Florida Tech Hub, including the Health Tech panel that discussed, “Digital Transformation and Data-Driven Insight in Healthcare” with leaders in healthcare technology. This panel had a packed room of students, researchers and faculty interested in hearing about “Where We Are and Where We’re Going” in healthtech.

Meggie Soliman, Director of Strategic Innovations at DSS, Inc. opened up the conversation with a presentation and followed by moderating the discussion with panelists, Pete Martinez, CEO of Sivotech Bioinformatics and former IBM executive, Yenvy Truong, Founder of LSM Group, and  Christopher Kunney, Chief of Strategy & Business Development at DSS, Inc.

The Tech Career & Internship Experiences panel discussion paired recent FAU alumni with their mentors to discuss how they secured an internship and their current full-time industry positions. They also answered students’ questions and shared advice.

Panelists included Rich Viens, Chief Financial Officer at PeakActivity and former intern Valeria Tineo, now the Incoming Account Executive of Organizational Business Development at Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lakshamana Sankarakuttalam, Senior Manager IT, Enterprise Intelligence at Office Depot alongside recent FAU Alum and current Master’s student,  Jose Delgado, Software Developer at Office Depot.

The conference featured mini sessions highlighting everything from “The Impact of AI in Financial Market Investment Strategies” to “Topological Data Analysis Algorithms in Robot Motion Planning.” The final keynote talk of the day was Daniel Uribe, MBA, Co-Founder & CEO, GenoBank.io, and active Tech Hub member. His talk was titled “BioNFTs: Enabling Decentralized Consented Genomics in the Metaverse” discussing the biodata provenance journey with an ethical risk analysis of who benefits, who is at risk, and who decides on the biological assets (biosamples + biodata) and the introduction of Biological Non-Fungible Tokens or BioNFTs that resolve in a public blockchain.

This year marked the return to an in-person event for the first time since 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last conference was held virtually in 2020. The last conference was successfully supported by the local Boca Raton company, TechStrong Group and Media Ops, which ensured it could be attended virtually. We are already looking forward to 2023!

Student Kerry-Ann Bartley shares how the M.S. in Data Science and Analytics program in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science provides training in analytic tools, preparing students with transferrable real world skills.
Largest Volunteer-Led Data Science Conference in Miami
Industry leaders and researchers brought together for the FAU Data Science Conference