Disney, McLaren Racing, RSM US LLP, The University of Texas at Dallas host Global Alteryx SparkED Datathon Series designed to increase data literacy and close skills gap

Alteryx, Inc., the Analytics Automation company, announced the launch of its first ever Alteryx SparkED Datathon series with a flagship event in partnership with McLaren Racing. This comes on the heels of the two-day SparkED Datathon hosted at The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) with Alteryx customers Disney, RSM US LLP, and more. This global upskilling initiative is designed to help learners gain data and analytics experience and understand how data-driven organizations are using decision intelligence to drive meaningful business outcomes.

Alteryx SparkED, the company’s no-cost analytics education program, now works with 977 institutions globally, an 87 percent year over year increase in 2022, and more than 140,000 learners in over 50 countries. The program helps individuals and career changers create growth opportunities and improve their career outcomes amidst current economic turbulence.

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McLaren Racing Accelerates Analytics Education

On Tuesday, March 14, McLaren Racing and Alteryx will host a unique Datathon at the McLaren Technology Centre, inviting students from universities across the UK to compete in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to analyze real-world data from the McLaren F1 Team. Students will qualify through a series of individual “escape room” challenges, with finalists participating in the data analytics Grand Prix event and getting a behind-the-scenes tour and look at the historical collection of McLaren Racing cars.

“Promoting STEM education pathways to help prepare today’s students to become tomorrow’s data leaders forms part of McLaren Racing’s commitment to making STEM careers more accessible to all,” said Matt Dennington, Executive Director, Partnerships and Accelerator at McLaren Racing. “Teaming up with our partner Alteryx to host a SparkED Datathon at the McLaren Technology Centre is an exciting opportunity for data-curious students. They will need to solve challenges using real-world McLaren data on the same innovative analytics platform our team uses to power our performance-enhancing insights.”

The University of Texas at Dallas Improves Students’ Career Outcomes with Alteryx SparkED

The McLaren Datathon follows the success of the UT Dallas event, where 100 students competed and solved use cases from Disney, RSM, and more. Students then met with prospective employers and showcased how they can deliver value with analytics on day one of employment.

“It’s important for us to build a robust data analytics program and give our students strong networking opportunities to improve their career outcomes,” said Gaurav Shekhar, Director of MS Business Analytics and Assistant Professor of Instruction, UT Dallas. “Alteryx SparkED has been a key partner for upskilling our students and helping them develop highly demanded data analytics skills that every employer across every industry needs.”

UT Dallas has the largest analytics program in the United States and serves as a model for higher education institutions by ensuring students have relevant business skills by graduation. More than 1,000 students have participated in SparkED, achieving more than 500 Alteryx micro-credentials and certifications.

“Businesses globally are hungry to find talented employees who are data literate and skilled in analytics,” said Libby Duane Adams, Chief Advocacy Officer and Co-Founder, Alteryx. “We’ve designed the Alteryx SparkED program to upskill students and help them succeed in the workplace, but we cannot do it alone. Our partnerships with organizations such as McLaren Racing and UT Dallas are key to bringing analytics to all.”

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