The Big Data Challenge contest launches online. Conceived by Telecom Italia with the EIT ICT Labs, MIT Media Lab, the Politecnico di Milano and Trento RISE (with support from the Fondazione Bruno Kessler and University of Trento), this challenge invites developers, researchers and designers from all over the world to come up with groundbreaking services and applications that leverage Big Data to enhance quality of life for citizens and assist government.
This initiative is part of the solutions development framework in which Telecom Italia is investing as part of the SKIL research lab in Trento (one of the Joint Open Lab network), supported by significant local enterprises like Spazio Dati, a highly innovation-led start.
Under the project, a big data package is being given to professionals, enterprises and bodies on which they can work together and put forward their best ideas to a panel of domestic and international experts. Participants can choose between three tracks: applications for mobile or web devices, model trend analysis, and data visualization through infographics.
The geo-referenced, anonymous and aggregated data comes from territories in the metropolitan area of Milan and the Autonomous Province of Trento over a two-month timespan, covering telecommunications, public and private transport, energy consumption, the weather and the social network sphere.
The dataset used for the Big Data Challenge has been collated in full compliance with privacy and applicable Community and domestic regulations; it has been provided by data owners under licence for the contest in compliance with conditions of full transparency for the data generators.
Telecom Italia has set up a dedicated online space for the initiative at www.telecomitalia.com/bigdatachallenge, where contestants can sign up and register from today until 10 February 2014. From 14 January 2014, registered users will have access to a reserved area on the site where the entire data package may be downloaded, and further information is available. In compliance with on-site terms and conditions, contestants must submit their input and ideas by 14 March 2014 in order to be considered for the final selection.
Information is also accessible via Telecom Italia’s official presence on major social networks Facebook and Twitter (with the hashtag #BigDataChallenge).
A panel of experts will select the ten finalists and on 2 and 3 April 2014 pick the top three projects in Trento during the ICT DAYS event.
Participants will be able to communicate and exchange views with the panel of leading names from research, industry and academia including Alex (Sandy) Pentland – Professor and Director MIT Media Lab Human Dynamics and Entrepreneurship; Alessandro Vespignani – Distinguished University Professor, Northeastern University, Boston, USA; Fondazione ISI, Turin; Wendy Hall – University of Southampton, UK, and Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences; Paolo Ciuccarelli – Head of Communication Design B.Sc. and M.Sc., Scientific Director of Density Design Research Lab, IT; Cesare Sironi – Head of Telecom Italia’s Innovation; Fabio Pianesi – EIT ICT Labs /Research Director; Alberto Diminin – Assistant Professor, Istituto di Management, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa and Advisor for Innovation Policy to the Minister of Education and Research, Rome; Gianni Riotta – Pirelli Visiting Professor New Media Studies Princeton University; Livio Scalvini – Head of Innovation Corporate & Investment Banking, Intesa Sanpaolo; Riccardo Luna, Director CheFuturo! and StartupItalia! – Editor for Innovation La Repubblica, Member of Board of Oxfam and Building Green.
Rome, 5 December 2013
