Launch of the ASEAN Data Science Explorers competition

To mark the historical milestone of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) turning 50, the ASEAN Foundation is working with strategic partners to establish several new initiatives centered around building a sense of ASEAN identity. The first of which is the “ASEAN Data Science Explorers” (ASEAN DSE), a regional competition jointly organised with SAP, the market leader in enterprise application software.

Targeting tertiary students across all 10 ASEAN member states from any discipline, this data analytics competition aims to enhance awareness and appreciation of the ASEAN community amongst ASEAN youths. Titled “Today’s Youth for Tomorrow’s World”, this competition will allow all ASEAN youths to play a key role in tackling today’s social issues facing the region and help create positive change for a better future.

By using the SAP BusinessObjects Cloud tool, the initiative encourages participants to deliver data-driven insights which highlight issues in ASEAN across six United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, namely (1) good health and well-being, (2) quality education, (3) gender equality, (4) clean water and sanitation, (5) decent work and economic growth, and (6) sustainable cities and communities. This will also work towards realising the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025 vision of creating an ASEAN community that engages and benefits the people, and is inclusive, sustainable, resilient and dynamic.

The competition will be organised in all 10 ASEAN Member States in October, with winners of the respective in-country competitions going into a regional final that will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia in November this year.

Together with SAP, ASEAN Foundation invites tertiary students in the 10 member states to take part in this initiative and take part in leading social transformation within the ASEAN bloc. Students can find out more about the competition and register online via the ASEAN DSE’s official website: www.aseandse.org. The registration portal is open until 16 June 2017.