The ASEAN Data Science Explorers competition, the ASEAN Foundation’s flagship programme, has proven ASEAN’s commitment to preparing our youth to be future-ready. This initiative plays a vital role in igniting students’ creative minds in tackling problems with innovative, creative, and sustainable solutions.

Through opportunities such as ASEAN DSE, youths are able to meet with their fellow youths from other countries and discover other cultures in ASEAN. This sense of closeness and belonging is what makes ASEAN united and stronger in overcoming our most pressing challenges and ensure a better future for everyone

Events like ASEAN Data Science Explorers is an important one because it brings together two important elements – data and skills. I want to congratulate SAP and the ASEAN Foundation for embarking on this project because it highlights the potential of what we can achieve with shared expertise. It’s an example of how industry partners and public institutions can bring together ideas and young talent, and open new doors for a brighter future for all of us.

This year, Viet Nam is chairing ASEAN with the theme “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN” and I am delighted to see how the ASEAN DSE competition fully embodies that spirit by encouraging our youth to be creative and proactive in responding to today’s challenges. Data-driven solutions are key to adapting to the new world generated by the 4th Industrial Revolution.

I believe this initiative is of great importance for ASEAN youth particularly in today’s increasingly digital world. Our young people need both technical skills, such as on data analytics, as well as 21st century skills to succeed amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I wish to thank SAP, therefore, for their valuable contributions to the education and youth sectors of ASEAN. I certainly look forward to working with SAP and the ASEAN Foundation more closely particularly as we shape our post-2020 education and youth agendas.

Joining ASEAN DSE is a great experience for me as I have learned various things during the competition. At first, I applied for this competition because I want to get to know more about data analysis only, but the longer I kept going with the competition, the more I understand that it isn’t only about data analysis, but about the problem solving. My partner and I had hard time collecting and studying data, but thanks to SAC, we can visualize our data more efficiently. ASEAN DSE is quite a journey, we travel on a rough road, but unexpectedly we enjoyed the scenery

Part of the reason why I participated and tried my best ASEAN DSE competition is because I can see myself using the skills here in my future career. Me and my teammate believe that what is measured gets improved and that is the importance of understanding data and how data tells stories. I strive to be a business analyst/consultant and knowing the ability to assess data and pinpoint solutions from data is important for my career

As a high school student, joining ASEAN DSE was one of my most memorable experiences ever. ASEAN DSE has introduced me to a new outlook on data science which is the combination of data analytic skills and 21st-century skills like teamwork, leadership, and presenting skills. Not only did this journey spark my interest in data science in general, but with the help of SAP, it also gave me valuable insights on how to make the gathered data as much accessible to everyone as possible since problems would not be solved and solutions would not be implemented without people being aware of them. My partner and I are thankful for such great opportunities this competition has given us. I for sure will continue the journey in discovering data science by using this experience as an inspiration to solve future challenges, and hopefully, one day contribute back to this amazing ASEAN DSE community

Aside of course from the prize money, what I valued most is the experience that the ADSE has given to me. It made me realize that I can push myself beyond my limits and compete in an international competition which was one of my dreams. Moreover, it has given me the chance to witness the "Unity in Diversity" of our beloved ASEAN region. I made a lot of ASEAN friends. I also had a chance to immerse in a different culture and share also my culture to them. I will never forget my journey to ADSE starting from day 1. I will never forget the growth that I had, together with my partner, Rusty. And that what really inspires me, that this competition became our garden to grow not just as a student but also as an ASEAN citizen.

I think it's an absolutely amazing platform for youths to learn about the current developments in ASEAN and to contribute to its progress by harnessing data and formulating solutions. Despite not having any data science background, I learnt to obtain meaningful information from the data sets and the SAP software, which I consider a very useful skill for my future. This competition also gave me the confidence that I have the ability to contribute to the growth of ASEAN through my ideas as a student.