Nobel Conference Workshops

Tuesday, October 5 at 3:30-4:30 p.m.

All sessions will be livestreamed via Zoom.
For our online audience: Go to the conference livestream page at to find a Zoom link for each workshop.

Two workshops have been canceled: How Big is Big Data? and Lying with Data.


Big Data – A New Frontier for Corporate Analytics
Large companies have always gathered information to help them design products, understand markets and target their advertisements to those consumers who are most likely to make a purchase. The ease and simplicity with which big data can be acquired, however, as well as the sophisticated and almost real-time understanding of decision-making that it can provide have transformed corporate analytics. This panel gathers an array of businesses representing everything from finance to health, to answer your questions about how corporations gather and organize data, how they use data to create and market products, and how they balance the privacy interests of their customers with the competitive advantages that data mining can deliver.

Virtual panel discussion by Wally LoFaro, Mastercard; John Owens ’83, Digital Finance Advisory Services; Joel Stremmel ’16, UnitedHealth Group; Mike Cafarella, MIT/Creator of Hadoop
For our online audience: Go to the conference livestream page at gustavus.edu/nobelconference to find a Zoom link.
Students and employees on campus may watch the livestream in Alumni Hall.


What Are They Doing With My Data? The Ethical Implications of Data Privacy
Think you’re unique? What if you learned that you could be identified from just three pieces of information about you? What sorts of data are being collected about you, and what kinds of assumptions are being made about you on the basis of those data--assumptions about your health status, for instance? In this workshop, participants will learn how and where data are collected, and will examine the ethical questions that arise from the collection of particular kinds of data. You’ll also learn how to do a privacy check on your own data. 

Presented by the Gustavus Coding Club
For our online audience: Go to the conference livestream page at gustavus.edu/nobelconference to find a Zoom link.
Students and employees on campus may watch in person at Wallenberg Auditorium, Nobel Hall of Science

The Creative Side of Big Data
Can machines be creative? Although artificial intelligence is commonly viewed as cold and unfeeling, machines can appreciate the finer things in life as well. This workshop will demonstrate how Big Data opens a new world of creative opportunities using machine learning. Participants will learn how AI can freestyle a song, guess a drawing, and play a piano duet with a human in real time. During the conversation, participants can reflect on the ethical and social impacts of these possibilities.

Presented by Ben Menke, Gustavus Class of 2022
For our online audience: Go to the conference livestream page at gustavus.edu/nobelconference to find a Zoom link.
Students and employees on campus may watch in Beck 101.

My Data... NOT YOURS!
Join Gustavus Technology Services as we highlight practical strategies for keeping your devices and the data on them private and secure. You will learn about how to create and manage secure passwords, how to add security to your accounts with Multi-Factor Authentication, and securing your mobile devices with Find My Device and Emergency Contact options. We will also provide take-home materials that will walk you through implementing these tools at home.

Presented by Gustavus Technology Services Staff
For our online audience: Go to the conference livestream page at gustavus.edu/nobelconference to find a Zoom link.
Students and employees on campus may watch in Olin Hall Room 103.


Careers in Data Science and Related Industries
Join this interactive session to learn more about careers in data science. Participants will be able to talk with members of the Center for Career Development, as well as professionals in the data science field. Topics will include employer expectations, educational requirements, skill sets, salaries, and internship possibilities. 

Presented by the Gustavus Center for Career Development Specialists and Data Science Professionals
For our online audience: Go to the conference livestream page at gustavus.edu/nobelconference to find a Zoom link.
Students and employees on campus may watch in Nobel Hall Room 1413.

Check out this Big Data Resources site for additional recourse compiled for the Nobel Conference audience.