As we bid farewell to another successful SAS Explore, let’s reflect on the exciting announcements made during the Day Three general session in Las Vegas.
Jared Peterson, SAS Senior Vice President of Research and Development, set the stage for a closing session focused solely on our users and customers. We recognized and awarded the hard work our users have been doing to implement SAS in innovative ways.
Keep reading to check out all the awards we were able to give out!
Recognizing our customers
Kimberly May, Senior Vice President of Global Technical Support, joined the stage to acknowledge the recipients of the customer recognition awards. These standout users contribute meaningfully, such as developing solutions to enhance disaster response or fighting fraud with AI and machine learning. These users truly do it all.
Award recipients
SAS Support Community Hero: Tom Abernathy from Pfizer.
Regional User Group MVP: Quentin McMullen from Siemens Healthineers.
User Feedback: Lewis Lee from REA Group.
SAS Customer Impact: Chet Effler and Marty Sumner on behalf of the North Carolina Department of Insurance.
Distinguished Partner: Taskin Osman Aksoy on behalf of Linktera.
SAS Analytics Explorers Advocate: Markus Weick from EY.
Visual Storyteller Award: Satya Ly from Blue California.
Innovative Problem Solver: Gökhan Dumrul on behalf of QNB Finansbank.
Curious Thinker: Simru Delen Ipeck from Istanbul Airport.
Community Uplift: Sachin Sontakke on behalf of Gilead Sciences.
Rookie of the Year and ROI Rock Star: Sinem Orpack on behalf of Migros.
“Everyone in this audience today makes SAS what it is. We have a large community of talented customers who show the world what can be accomplished with the power of analytics.” Kimberly May, Senior Vice President of Global Technical Support.
Congratulations to all the winners!
So, who won the SAS Hackathon?
The 2023 SAS Hackathon winner was also announced. Twelve teams were noted as champions in different categories and traveled to Las Vegas to share their solutions in various breakout sessions throughout the week. But only one team could take home the title of grand champion and bragging rights, of course.
Alongside this year’s sponsor and SAS partner, Intel, the SAS Hackathon brought hundreds of curious minds together to collaborate and find solutions to big challenges, solve real-world problems and save lives.
Presented by Einar Halvorsen, Peter Lundqvist and Marinela Profi, the award winners stood out among the more than 100 teams that competed from various industries. The data scientists and technology enthusiasts participating had full access to learning platforms and a SAS mentor for one month to ensure they could have the biggest impact and solve challenges.
Read more on how Team JaWaRA achieved this using SAS® Analytics for IoT
“Over the last four years, we’ve seen the SAS Hackathon grow from a regional event in the Nordics to a global flagship event,” said Einar Halvorsen, Global Lead for SAS Hackathon. “We’ve witnessed amazing innovation and intense passion among Hackathon teams, and we have watched technologies developed in SAS Hackathons used in real-world settings.”
The winning team, Jakarta Water Resources Analytics (JaWaRA), impressed the jury and participants. This team focused on Jakarta, a city in Indonesia projected to sink by 2050 without intervention.
Using IoT sensors to analyze real-time data, this project offered transparent insights and actionable information to manage and mitigate flooding efficiently and effectively. Team JaWaRA also produced a video explaining their hack.
Mark your calendars for another SAS event in Las Vegas!
SAS Innovate, SAS Explore and SAS Amplify were cultivated to nurture the return to in-person events after the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19. By having separate events for users, business professionals and partners, we were sure to grow at a manageable pace when returning to in-person events.
Based on feedback we’ve collected from our customers, it’s time to combine these events to create the ultimate AI and analytics experience for entire teams. Mark your calendars for April 17-19, 2024. SAS Innovate will be back in Vegas for an all-new experience designed for executives, managers, users and SAS partners. Let the countdown to April 2024 begin!
