KAISERSLAUTERN — The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), a leading nonprofit research institute in AI, in collaboration with Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (TUK), announces the upcoming Summer School “Data Science for Social Goods” (DSSG), scheduled to run from June 6 to August 26, 2022, in Kaiserslautern, Germany, according to a press release published on EuropaWire.

The twelve-week program aims to harness the power of data analysis for societal benefit. Participants will engage in workshops, group projects, and lectures focused on various aspects of data science. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to submit projects for consideration during the Summer School, with a deadline for applications set for February 14, 2022.

Projects undertaken during the Summer School may span diverse fields, including healthcare, education, employment, and transportation. For instance, participants might work on projects involving the early detection of health risks or optimizing emergency medical services. Additionally, they may tackle challenges related to education, such as identifying factors to prevent school dropouts, or address issues concerning employment and transportation safety.

The initiative draws inspiration from the “Data Science for Social Good” program, originally conceived by U.S. computer science professor Ryid Ghani, renowned for his contributions to analytics and data technology. Ghani’s expertise, which played a pivotal role in advising former U.S. President Barack Obama’s election campaign in 2012, laid the foundation for leveraging data science to address pressing societal issues.

Professor Dr. Sebastian Vollmer, an esteemed figure in machine learning applications at TU Kaiserslautern and head of the Data Science and Its Applications research area at DFKI, will lead the inaugural DSSG Summer School in Kaiserslautern. The program serves as a partner initiative to the DSSG Foundation Summer Fellowship hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA, with the involvement of Warwick University in England.

While the Summer School is currently slated to take place in Kaiserslautern, organizers acknowledge the potential for adjustments due to pandemic-related considerations.