<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Get ready to transform data into change! Join CDC 2026 and explore how data science and AI can be used for social good.
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<aside> <img src="/icons/megaphone_blue.svg" alt="/icons/megaphone_blue.svg" width="40px" /> **First, open a communication line.
Join the CDC Slack** if you have not already! The CDC Slack is where you can chat with other hackers, ask for help, submit memes, and get the most up-to-date day-of announcements. Make sure to turn your notifications on! Join here.
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The Carolina Data Challenge, or CDC, is UNC’s weekend-long data science hackathon hosted by Carolina Analytics and Data Science (CADS) in partnership with the UNC Department of Computer Science and the School of Data Science and Society.
This year’s location is UNC Computer Science’s Sitterson Hall. Our hackers will form teams and develop innovative AI and data science solutions that address social challenges across a variety of domains.
Of course, every good hackathon has plenty of excitement. Interact with our sponsors at the sponsorship fair, attend workshops to add new skills to your roster, engage with other organizations at the club fair, grab great merch, earn prizes, and meet new friends!
CDC is completely beginner-friendly, with numerous workshops and networking opportunities for those completely new to data science, ensuring that hackers of all skill levels have the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and create projects for social good!
After the opening ceremony, hackers will dive right in and tackle this year’s theme: AI for Social Good.
Students will work in teams to combine data science and AI to analyze a dataset and gather meaningful insights, choosing from carefully selected datasets focused on social impact and public benefit.
Teams will get the chance to work on projects focusing on one of five tracks: Business, Social Science, Natural Science, Pop Culture, or the Graduate track! Each track will have their own hand-picked dataset to explore, all with varying difficulties, unique challenges, and interesting insights.
After time is up, teams will showcase their projects to a panel of judges consisting of UNC Professors and industry professionals from our sponsors. These judges will select winning teams in each track to take home amazing prizes!
Project Expectations and Judging
<aside> <img src="/icons/camera_blue.svg" alt="/icons/camera_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Follow us on Instagram! @cdc.unc
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