Participants will compete to solve a data problem or build an app to promote energy efficiency and sustainability. The DataHack offers students the opportunity to showcase their technical skills, test new research ideas and meet potential collaborators in a friendly and fun environment.
Sixty-three teams comprising 126 students from 13 universities and Institutes of Technology attended last year’s event and AIB expects similar numbers to participate this year.

The two winning teams will each receive prizes of €2,000, while each of the four runner up teams will receive €1,000. There will also be spot prizes, refreshments and goodie bags on the day.

AIB Chief Operations Officer Tomas O’Midheach said: “Smart technologies generate large quantities of data which can be analysed to help better understand and influence customer behaviour in areas like energy efficiency. There are likely to be plenty of employment opportunities for graduates in data analytics in the future with the government’s Expert Group on Future Skills Needs estimating c. 30,000 job openings in Big Data and analytics up to 2020.’’

This year’s DataHack takes place at AIB’s Headquarters at Bankcentre, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 on 12th November. Registration will be open from today (October 3rd) until November 3rd. Teams of two are invited to apply.