NEWS RELEASE MARCH 31, 2025
College Students Tackle Real-World Mentorship Challenges at MinneMUDAC 2025 Data Competition
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – March 31, 2025 – On April 5th, more than 65 college teams from across the Midwest will converge at the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Union to participate in MinneMUDAC 2025, an innovative data analytics competition aimed at showcasing the skills of young analytics professionals while improving youth mentorship outcomes in the Twin Cities.
Hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Data Science Initiative (DSI), this year’s competition partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, challenging students to analyze real, de-identified mentorship data to create stronger, more sustainable matches between adult mentors (“Bigs”) and youth mentees (“Littles”). The event represents a unique intersection of academic learning, professional development, and community service.
“MinneMUDAC is a triple threat of benefits; honing participants’ analytics skills, building community and, of course, solving real problems for our community partners,” said John Hogue, Board Member at MinneAnalytics, the 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization behind the event. “The impact of this work extends far beyond the competition – it has the potential to transform how Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities approaches their mentorship matching process.”
The competition features both undergraduate and graduate divisions, with increasingly complex challenges. While undergraduate teams focus on improving the matching process between mentors and mentees, graduate students face the more demanding task of predicting additional success factors and prescribing effective strategies to bolster these relationships – a critical aspect of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities’ mentorship program.
For the past month, participating teams have been analyzing complex datasets including de-identified demographic information and historical match outcomes. Working under the guidance of faculty advisors, students function as consulting teams with Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities as their client.
The competition culminates in a high-energy event where teams will deliver multiple presentations to panels of over 100 industry professionals, including business leaders, technologists, and academics. These professionals serve dual roles as both judges and mentors, providing valuable feedback to students throughout the day. Top-performing teams will advance to the afternoon finals, presenting their solutions to the entire assembly.
“This competition creates a win-win scenario,” added Pat Sukhum, CEO at Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities. “Students gain invaluable real-world experience working with complex data and presenting to industry professionals, while our organization receives fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to supercharge our mission – creating meaningful, long-lasting mentor relationships.”
The event highlights the growing importance of data literacy across industries and provides students with networking opportunities that can lead to internships and job offers. Previous MinneMUDAC participants have reported that the experience significantly enhanced their resumes and interview conversations with potential employers.
“We started MUDAC back in 2012 at Winona State University to showcase the abilities of students to solve difficult problems that are motivated by an industry partner,” said Chris Malone, co-founder of MUDAC. “For many students, this type of experience is the first time the solution to the problem is not known. All students are required to present their findings to working professionals who serve as judges – another experience that helps students prepare for their future careers in analytics.”
MinneMUDAC 2025 is co-produced by MinneAnalytics, The University of Minnesota’s Data Science Initiative, and the Midwest Undergraduate Data Analytics Competition (MUDAC). Learn more at https://minneanalytics.org/minnemudac-2025/
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About MinneAnalytics: MinneAnalytics is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the data science and emerging technology community in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Through events like MinneMUDAC, the organization connects students, professionals, and organizations to advance data science education and application. More information can be found at https://minneanalytics.org/.
About the University of Minnesota’s Data Science Initiative: The Data Science Initiative (DSI) at the University of Minnesota fosters interdisciplinary collaboration in data science and AI research, education, and application. By hosting events like MinneMUDAC, DSI demonstrates its commitment to preparing the next generation of data scientists while addressing real-world challenges. More information can be found at https://dsi.umn.edu/.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities: For over 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities has been serving thousands of youth and their families across Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Dakota and Washington counties. Their mission is to create and support mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. With community support, they ensure every young person has a mentor, is affirmed in who they are, and explores who they want to be. Be BIG for youth at http://bigstwincities.org/.
About MUDAC: The Midwest Undergraduate Data Analytics Competition (MUDAC) was founded by Winona State University – Department of Mathematics & Statistics as a way for undergraduate students from around the Midwest to showcase their analytics skills by solving a problem posed by an industry partner. MUDAC is an annual competition that allows students and working professionals to share in each other’s experiences.
Media Contact:
Dan Atkins
Cofounder, MinneAnalytics
Dan@minneanalytics.org