UNF celebrates 10 years of students using data science to help Florida communities

The University of North Florida's Data Science for Social Good (FL-DSSG) marked its 10th anniversary Tuesday with presentations from student teams whose summer research helped nonprofits address issues ranging from supporting military-connected youth to preventing child maltreatment.

The annual "Big Reveal" showcased the results of a 12-week summer internship program that pairs students with local organizations to tackle complex social challenges through data research. The program is led by Dr. Dan Richard, professor of psychology, and Dr. Karthikeyan Umapathy, professor of information systems.

Richard said UNF is tied with the University of Washington for operating the longest-running Data Science for Social Good programs in the world.

Since its inception in 2017, the program has conducted 58 projects, impacting 315 students throughout the country who helped address "wicked problems" that negatively impact Florida communities.

Umapathy said the program's success over the past decade stems from its dual focus on student development and community impact, noting that one of its greatest accomplishments has been empowering students to help Florida nonprofits and public sector organizations address meaningful community change.

"When we founded FL-DSSG, it was a summer internship program impacting three nonprofits and five students," Umapathy said. "Today, it has evolved into a year-round program. During the past academic year alone, we impacted 19 organizations and 32 students."

Helping four nonprofits this year

This year's "Big Reveal" featured presentations by four research teams comprised of nine students from universities across the country, including three UNF graduate students: Brant Marcus, Kushul Reddy Palakala and Jaden Powell. The respective student teams participated in an intensive summer internship conducting data-based research projects for four nonprofit organizations:

• Cathedral Arts Project: Interns evaluated the impact of the organization's Brave HeARTS program, which supports military-connected children who face unique social, emotional and educational challenges associated with military life.
• Community Foundation of North Central Florida: Interns developed methodologies for integrating locally collected nonprofit and philanthropic data into broader community indicator systems, helping community leaders make more informed, evidence-based decisions about quality-of-life issues throughout North Central Florida.
• LISC Jacksonville: Interns researched unclaimed property tax exemptions among eligible homeowners, particularly those facing barriers such as limited awareness, language access challenges, documentation requirements and heirs' property issues.
• Center of Hope: Interns examined community-based child maltreatment prevention efforts in Jacksonville neighborhoods experiencing concentrated poverty, housing instability and other systemic challenges.

UNF students gaining real-world experience

UNF Interim President Dr. Angela Garcia Falconetti welcomed attendees and credited Richard and Umapathy for their leadership in building FL-DSSG into a nationally recognized program. She also thanked the nonprofit and public-sector partners who collaborate with FL-DSSG to provide students with meaningful experiential learning opportunities that create positive change throughout the community.

Jaden Powell, a UNF graduate student majoring in psychological science who worked with the Center of Hope, said his internship experience helped him strengthen and gain confidence in both his technical and communication skills.

"The biggest thing that I developed through this internship experience was my communication skills," said Powell. "I feel that I am a better communicator having done this internship than without it."

Like Powell, fellow UNF psychological science graduate student Brant Marcus also shared how his internship experience working with the Cathedral Arts Project was transformative.

"Having the opportunity to work with a real-world organization on applied data was unmatched. I never did anything like it in my academic or professional career, and it was just incredible."

Looking ahead, Umapathy said the program's next goal is to establish an AI-Driven Innovation and Solutions Institute that will expand the capacity to help organizations solve complex social challenges through artificial intelligence, analytics and interdisciplinary research.

In addition to "The Big Reveal," FL-DSSG also hosts the annual AI for Good Hackathon each fall, a purpose-driven event that brings together students interested in data science, cloud computing and artificial intelligence to create solutions that benefit society.

Learn more about FL-DSSG by visiting the program's website and view "The Big Reveal" online.