Looking back at CorrelCon 2024: A successful mix of data science, community and creativity
Three days full of intensive workshops on tech, coding and data science, where knowledge was shared and skills were developed - that was CorrelCon 2024 in Munich. But the event offered far more than just specialist knowledge: It was about exchange, networking and creative impulses that brought the CorrelAid community closer together. Almost 40 data enthusiasts from the CorrelAid community came together to learn from each other and develop new ideas together. Thanks to lots of funny dinoprompts 🦖 and a particularly engaging atmosphere, the event was an unforgettable experience.
The event kicked off at the Eine-Welt-Haus in Munich on Friday evening with a review of the past year. The management and board gave an impressive presentation of what CorrelAid has achieved over the past year - an inspiring introduction that increased anticipation for the upcoming tenth anniversary next year. The evening also featured a special anecdote: the sweet story of how the “Datendino”, CorrelAid's mascot, came to be. In spring, Sören and Zoé had the idea of creating a little dinosaur with a bar chart on its back as a symbol for CorrelAid - which has accompanied the association ever since and makes the often serious world of data a little more emotional. The cute mascot was represented at CorrelCon in the form of lovingly designed wooden name badges.
After a relaxed evening with pizza and lively conversations, during which long-standing members and new faces got to know each other, Saturday morning started for some participants with an inspiring yoga session - thanks to Padma for the perfect start to the day. The day then continued at the location with an exciting workshop day, which offered a wide range of sessions and topics. Especially nice: there was something for everyone! Beginners could get an introduction to Git and data visualization with Excel or learn more about engagement opportunities at CorrelAid. Advanced participants discussed best practices in project management for Data4Good projects, exchanged views on ethical issues and responsible AI or delved deeper into exploratory data analysis.
Warming rays of sunshine and a mild October day allowed for relaxed breaks on the sunny terrace between sessions. The day ended appropriately in a Munich brewery - with freshly tapped Hellen, of course. Here, too, the Datendino didn't let go of us: we worked hard together to create new dinosaur creations with various GenAI tools. For example, we created flying dinosaurs with decision trees and neural networks in their wings, and a triceratops with a circle diagram as a neck shield. But also special dinosaurs for individual local.chapters of CorrelAid: with lederhosen for Munich or at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. There were many more ideas, but the implementation with various GenAI tools was not always easy.
Sunday marked the end of CorrelCon and began with an introduction to Python and a particularly exciting session on text classification based on the SDGs. After a productive morning, the participants made their way home with many new impressions, valuable contacts, great memories and, of course, numerous new Datendino creations.
A huge thank you goes to the entire organizing team that made CorrelCon possible again this year - Sören, Rahel, Regina, Lena and Nevena💚. Finally, a special thanks to Mindfuel for their support. Your contribution strengthens our mission and enables us to make events like this even more enriching!💚
We are already looking forward to the next CorrelCon and to continuing the inspiring journey of the CorrelAid community!
