Inviting Students to participate in the Data Challenge

They will also have access to mentors from academia, industry and the social sector to help them develop their ideas.

The Consulate General of Ireland, Mumbai and Red Dot Foundation are hosting an exciting Data Challenge on Women’s Safety for students in India and Ireland. Registrations are open from 8 November to 8 December 2021. The virtual challenge finals will be hosted in February 2022 with winners announced in time for International Women’s Day on 8 March. Over 100 students from Higher education institutions in India and Ireland will team up to design solutions for women’s safety.

The aim of this Data Challenge on Women’s Safety is to provide an opportunity for students to deeper understand the issue of sexual and gender-based violence through data analysis and visualizations, and recommend ideas and possible solutions. Sexual and gender-based violence is a global pandemic affecting 1 in 3 women on an average at least once in their lifetime (UN Women).

This violence is highly under-reported due to shame and the taboo associated with it. The Data Challenge seeks to break the silence on the issue and inspire students to take action. Red Dot Foundation’s Safecity dataset comprising anonymous incidents of sexual and gender-based violence will form the base for the challenge.

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Selected participants will be placed into teams and will have the opportunity to pitch compelling ideas as solutions for women’s safety. During the challenge, participants will attend Master Classes and expert panels to further their understanding of the topic.

They will also have access to mentors from academia, industry and the social sector to help them develop their ideas. Working in multi-disciplinary and intercultural teams, participants can hone their skills in gender and intercultural sensitivity, data analytics and visualization, critical thinking and problem solving and “learn by doing”.

“Working with Red Dot Foundation gives the Consulate the opportunity to support an initiative with practical outcomes for women’s safety while providing a space for Indian and Irish students to meet and exchange ideas. We hope this project will lead to even stronger links between India and Ireland”, says Alison Reilly, Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of Ireland, Mumbai.

“It is important that students are socially aware and sensitive. Participating in the data challenge gives them the opportunity to “learn by doing” as well as develop intercultural skills whilst working on a complex social problem. We hope they get a deeper insight to the issue of sexual and gender-based violence and be motivated to take action to prevent it. We are thrilled to partner with the Consulate General of Ireland in Mumbai and other partners on this challenge.” says ElsaMarie DSilva, Founder, Red Dot Foundation.

The Prize

Each team will have the opportunity to pitch their idea or solution for women’s safety. Eight teams will be selected for the final pitches and three winning ideas will be awarded prize vouchers. The first prize is INR 45000, the second prize INR 25000 and the third prize INR 15000. 

To register for the Data Challenge on Women’s Safety, higher education institution students are requested to visit/ register by clicking on: https://bit.ly/DC_WS

Spots are limited so please register before 8th December 2021. The project will connect with students across Ireland through UCD College of Science and has been developed with support from Education in Ireland.

The Consulate General of Ireland in Mumbai

The Consulate General was established in 2019 and works to promote and protect Irish interests in Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat – working with the Irish community, promoting Irish economic interests and working to further strengthen the strong bilateral relations between Ireland and India.

“The Consulate promotes a greater awareness of Ireland through our arts and culture; supports the Irish state agencies; and provides a wide range of consular services.”, a statement said.

The Red Dot Foundation

Red Dot Foundation works at the intersection of gender, data and tech, urban design, and community engagement. Its flagship program is Safecity, a platform that crowdsources personal stories of sexual harassment and abuse in public and private spaces. Since the launch of the Safecity platform on 26 Dec 2012, it has collected over 35,000 stories from India and abroad and have directly reached over 1 million people.

The Education in Ireland

Education in Ireland is the national brand of Enterprise Ireland, which is responsible for the promotion of Irish Higher Education Institutions overseas under the authority of the Minister for Education and Skills.

Ireland’s higher education institutes offer an extensive range of over 5000 programmes that result in an internationally recognised degree and quality assured qualifications. Irish Higher education institutions are ranked amongst the best in the world and universities in Ireland rank amongst the top 5% worldwide. Ireland provides the benefits of an English-speaking education in a country that is the centre of Europe’s culture and economy. Following Brexit, Ireland is the only majority English-speaking country in the European Union. With the fastest growing economy in the EU, Ireland is a sound and reliable option for international students seeking to study and make a career abroad.

The University College Dublin

Based in the vibrant capital city of Dublin, University College Dublin (UCD) is Ireland’s most globally engaged university with over 33,000 students of which more than 8,500 students are drawn from over 140 different countries. UCD is ranked in the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide. In the 2022 QS, World University Rankings UCD was named 173rd in the world. UCD is ranked first in Ireland and 87th in the 2022 QS World University Graduate Employability Rankings (UCD has been ranked number 1 in Ireland since 2018).