The well-being of the world's children was in focus in the competition of the BI course

Department of Information and Service Management hosted an exhilarating Tableau – University of Turku –  Aalto University competition event at Aalto University School of Business on 23 April, bringing together students from both Aalto's Business Intelligence course and a similar program at the Turku School of Economics. Ten teams, carefully selected from over 250 course students, tackled the same challenge: analyzing world child data and presenting their findings. 

The challenge aimed to provide insights for improving children's quality of life by analyzing vast data sets from UNICEF. The Tableau Analytics Challenge competition dataset encompassed global statistics on children’s well-being, spanning over 100 countries. It addressed critical factors such as child mortality rates, access to clean water, education, and child labor. Teams aimed to derive insights into the current state of children under 5 worldwide, identifying their predominant challenges and examining the impact of climate change on their lives.

Great collaboration and fair competition 

Congratulations to the best overall team. The winning team was from Aalto and its members were Rose Marie Rusanen, Oskari Lamberg, Joel Liukkonen, Emma Ignatius, and Ali Amaan. The judges highlighted their outstanding analytical process and presentation skills. Also, congratulations to Vilho Saarela, Sami Tuuri, Iiro Alestalo, Saga Kreula, and Veeti Timonen for being selected as the best University of Turku team by Aalto students.

‘I'd like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Janne Lind from Tableau, the event organizer and Master of Ceremonies, who handled all technical aspects to ensure a seamless experience. His dedication over the past seven years has been invaluable, benefiting over 300 master’s students and having a substantial influence on Finland's BI industry,’ says Associate Professor Yong Liu. 

Yong Liu organized the course together with Timo Leino, the responsible course teacher at University of Turku. Timo Leino orchestrated the event on the Turku School of Economics’ side and safely guided the students through unexpected challenges, including a snowstorm of the event day. ‘It's been a pleasure collaborating with Timo for the past seven years. Also, special thanks go to my colleague, Principal University Lecturer Johanna Bragge for her constant support for the event!’ 

‘Last but not least, my sincere gratitude goes to our esteemed judges, Communications Manager Terhi Bruun and Digital Marketing Manager Minna King from UNICEF and Robin Wikström, Director of Business Analytics and Operations of With-secure, for their invaluable contribution as judges of the event and for providing professional feedback. I am truly grateful for your provision of UNICEF data pertaining to world child well-being for the challenge event. Finally, a big thank you to all Aalto and TSE students who participated in the event. The enthusiasm and dedication of the students made the event a huge success,’ Yong Liu says.