Last week the CELEHS / HMS Data Science Summer Program kicked off a two-week program with 22 high school students from all over the US, as well as Canada and Mexico. The students began the week by beginning the construction of toy cars, while simultaneously getting immersed in the basics of Python. As they learn the programming skills needed to teach the cars to recognize objects and eventually drive themselves, the students will learn about some of the broader applications of statistics and machine learning. Lunchtime speakers and lectures from faculty will also help them to gain insights from researchers and practitioners about some of the professional paths stemming from data science.
Led by professor Tianxi Cai and Biostats alum Aaron Sonabend, PhD ’20, and supported by a number of Biostats faculty and alumni including Junwei Lu, Andrew Beam, and Jesse Gronsbell, the camp provides this unique hands-on opportunity to a wide range of students, including 4 from Mexico where Sonabend initially began running a similar program. A special thanks to ELECTRONICA STEREN, which provided free car kits to some of the Mexico-based participants.
