CSoI Team to Compete in XPRIZE Finals

An interdisciplinary science and policy team (members listed below) organized by Center for Science of Information at Purdue is among five remaining teams competing in the finals in a global XPRIZE Challenge coordinated by the Open Data Institute (ODI) and sponsored by Microsoft. 

The primary purpose of the Challenge is to investigate the lack of access to reliable and fast internet connections for learners in the U.S. (and globally), especially in the light of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic pressures. The five remaining teams are competing for a total prize pot of £100,000 which will go to eligible non-profit organizations chosen by the winning teams.

The finals, taking place on May 4th, involve the team presenting their findings and solutions to a panel of international judges. The team represents four institutions and five disciplines primarily combining data science and economic policy to investigate the digital divide among k-12 students in the U.S.

Brent Ladd, CSoI Director of Education and Diversity and team organizer and advisor, had this to say about the team, "I'm incredibly proud of the members of this team and their commitment to this global challenge addressing the digital divide. They have collaborated strategically to combine their knowledge and skills, even as they've had to bridge across disciplines and work entirely through online methods during the pandemic."

The team, known as D2IE - Addressing Digital Divide and Inclusion in Education, includes two Ph.D. students, two undergraduate students, and two staff members. The team is the most recent to emerge from the CSoI's Interdisciplinary Student Research Collaborative, a long-running activity of the Center's overarching Information Frontiers Learning Initiative.

Data science and policy research co-leads Cary K. Jim (U. North Texas) and Alison Grant (Purdue) had this to say when interviewed by the Open Data Institute: 

"We are all products of an educational system, inside and outside of the classroom, in which digital literacy was incorporated into our daily lives. Imagining a world where we did not have this experience brings home the realization that there are inequities in digital education not just across the world, but within our own backyard – the US.

We are taking part in this challenge because we believe digital education should be provided to everyone. We have seen that the spillover benefits that stream from a population educated in this way can and will benefit all of society in the long run. By participating in this challenge, we hope to play a part in informing the problem – the real costs that it will take to produce the above-mentioned societal benefits – so that one day, we might all be able to overcome the digital divide."

In addition to D2IE, the four other teams in the finals include two teams from Africa and two teams from the U.S.

 

D2IE Team Members:

Cary K. Jim, Ph.D. Candidate in Data and Information Sciences, University of North Texas (Research Co-Lead)

Alison Grant, Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Economics, Purdue University (Research Co-Lead)

Mai Anh Tran Nguyen, Undergraduate in Computer Science, Bryn Mawr College

Nathan R. Kanter, Undergraduate in Data Visualization/Web Programming & Design, Purdue University

Kena Nicol, GIS Specialist, Dallas College, Dallas, TX (Advisor on spatial data)

Brent T. Ladd, Director of Education, Center for Science of Information, Purdue University (Team Advisor/Organizer)