The Department of Statistical Sciences, in partnership with the Rotman TD Management Data and Analytics Lab, proudly hosted ASA DataFest 2025—an intensive weekend competition where undergraduate students put their statistical skills to the test on a real-world dataset. This year’s challenge was developed in collaboration with Savills, a global commercial real estate advisory firm, giving students a rare opportunity to work with proprietary leasing data.
The Challenge
For the 2025 DataFest, students were challenged to uncover trends in commercial real estate leasing using proprietary data from Savills. Their goal was to generate insights that help businesses decide where, when, and whether to lease office space in a post-pandemic market. Participants explored data across time, geography, and sectors such as tech, law, and finance, navigating messy, real-world data to extract meaningful recommendations.
The Winners Take the Stage
After a weekend of data wrangling, modelling, and storytelling, the judges selected four outstanding teams:
Best Insight: DHLM – Amy Hu, Elisse Liu, Meng Xiang, and Du Yuxuan
Best Presentation: Team Bytebloom – Cristina Su Lam, Yuming Huang, Sum Yee Chan, and Karen Riani
Best Visualization: Raccoons – Andy Feng, He Yingke, Jesse Xu, and Kevin You
Honourable Mention: p < 0.05 gang – Tong Dan, Henry Ren, Ming Lai, and Kason Kuang
ASA DataFest continues to be a highlight of the academic year for the Department of Statistical Sciences, where statistics education meets creativity, collaboration, and industry relevance.
A huge thank you to this year’s sponsor, TD Bank Group, and to our judges, mentors, and volunteers who made the weekend possible.
Visit our ASA DataFest page for event highlights, photos, and more on past competitions.