University team wins Tracfone Trachack Challenge

Big Data Science Master's students win first and second prizes in the latest Challenge 22.2 of TracFone Wireless, Inc. a subsidiary of América Móvil and the largest mobile operator in the Americas.

The challenge, which also involved students from the University of New South Wales (Australia), involved using Machine Learning techniques to predict which customers would be eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which provides broadband services and connectivity to low-income households to keep them connected during the pandemic.

Laura Rodríguez, Computer Engineer and Master's student at the University, affirms that the diversity of profiles in the team was a strength in the competition, because it allowed them to combine different visions of the same problem. This point is shared by Gerardo Ruano, Risk Analyst, who highlights the commitment and the constant and organized work of the group.

Another of the members, Jaime Blanco, Data Scientist, underlines the value of the tools and skills developed in the Master's Program: "I would highlight the subject of data preparation and cleaning, because the correct feature engineering was what allowed us to reach the solution".

"It was hard work, but it was worth it," said Sergio Martín, Financial Guarantees Specialist, and Daniel Fernández de Castillo, Risk Analyst. The challenge tackled a real problem with real data; a very enriching experience, according to the team, who in addition to being Master's students are also BBVA professionals.

For five weeks, students from different universities compete with the aim of providing solutions in Data Science projects. This edition of the challenge (titled: Predicting Eligibility for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program) is aligned with TracFone's social initiative 'Coverage & Access for All!', which aims to help households with little or no income stay connected.