[AISWorld] United Nations data science competition related to the Future of Work

[George Westerman]

The United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) and MIT Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) are conducting an exciting data science challenge related to the Future of Work. The challenge asks teams of students, faculty and/or corporate experts to forecast the level of demand for different skills at the country level - either one country or multiple.  The challenge is open to individuals and teams from anywhere in the world.  Winning teams will be featured at a conference organized by MIT J-WEL.

Please join us!   For more detail see below.

BACKGROUND:

Rapid technological and economic changes worldwide are changing the types of jobs being demanded, and the nature of the work in those jobs. People need better advice on how to gain the right skills to advance in their careers. Employers need data to hire the right workers for the future, and to help their current employers gain useful skills. Educational institutions need information to plan workforce-relevant courses and programs. Governments need insight to help them invest in the right programs to improve the employability and financial security of their people.

This United Nations challenge invites students, researchers, data scientists, entrepreneurs, and other creative minds to apply their skills to help governments and individuals prepare for a transforming world of work.

THE CHALLENGE:

The challenge seeks to identify predictive models and datasets that can be used to forecast skill trends at the country level. Single-country tools will be considered, but the best submissions will allow multiple countries to understand their unique skill trends. We're looking for solutions that:

  *   Forecast changes in demand for occupations in the next 1 year, 5 years, 10 years;
  *   Identify skills that may be more or less in demand across occupations;
  *   Identify skill linkages or pathways between downward-trending occupations and upward-trending occupations and highlight which are the differentiating duties or tasks.

Participation can range from submitting new prototype models to developing full-fledged solutions. In every case, getting involved should prove rewarding. Winning submissions will be featured at a conference organized by MIT J-WEL in 2020 and will be recognized by the United Nations OICT.   The recognition may generate additional opportunities, funding or collaborators to carry your solution farther.

HOW TO JOIN:

Details, registration information, and challenge deadlines are available at the following link: https://ideas.unite.un.org/futureskills. The platform is currently open for registration and collaboration.

If you have any questions, please write to me at georgew at mit.edu<mailto:georgew at mit.edu>
We look forward to receiving great solutions from you and your networks.

Best regards,
George Westerman
Principal Research Scientist, Workforce Learning, MIT Jameel World Education Lab
Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management