NYC School of Data 2023 is here!!

Charge your laptops or tablets, pack your water bottle, vaccination card, grab your quality mask, sharpen your pencils, and get a good night’s rest! Join us for NYC’s most informative civic tech + open data event of the year — NYC School of Data 2023 on Saturday, 18 March!

This year, we celebrate the 11th anniversary of the City’s transformative open data law, and we end NYC Open Data Week with 30+ sessions!

NYC School of Data is a community conference that brings together the City’s technology, data, and design communities. It is organized by BetaNYC, with programming support from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics (MODA).

From over 100 community suggested sessions, we are organizing 30 thought provoking panels, workshops, office hours, and demo/usability sessions to cover a wide variety of topics – digital and data literacy, privacy, smart cities, open government, service design, civic engagement, and open data.

Come learn and contribute to the next decade of technology, data, and policy — by us, for us!

There are a handful of student and scholarship tickets available.

Schedule of Sessions:

  • 9:00 – Doors open with a light breakfast
  • 10:00 – Keynote Session
  • 11:30 – Session and Workshops 1
  • 12:30 – Networking Lunch
  • 1:45 – Session and Workshops 2
  • 3:00 – Session and Workshops 3
  • 4:15 – Session and Workshops 4
  • 5:30 – Closing session!
  • 6:30 – CLOSE & Lights OUT!

For a detailed list of sessions visit < schoolofdata.nyc/schedule >.

Photo Consent Lanyards and Code of Conduct:

We will have two different lanyards for photo consent. If you consent to your image being captured, select a black lanyard. If you are hesitant about consent, select a red lanyard. Lastly, please don’t take photos of children. 

At BetaNYC, we believe that everyone has a place at our events. Equality and community equity are two core components of building a vibrant civic hacker / civic technology community. By attending the NYC School of Data event, you are committing yourself to BetaNYC’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy.

In short, it is:

  1. Be respectful.
  2. Listen as much as you speak.

Before walking through our doors, you should read our code of conduct. Violating these rules are grounds for ejection, and we’re not kidding.

Some rooms will be recorded: 

You can find out which rooms will be recorded by the Internet Society of New York on our published schedule < https://nycsodata23.sched.com/ >.

BetaNYC will be actively recording rooms 1-202, 1-203, 2-301 (Auditorium), 3-301, and 3-302. Please note these rooms will be recorded. Only the Auditorium will be live streamed.

We are not recording rooms 1-204, 1-205, 2-112, 2-116, 2-119 3-114, and 3-115 and 3-116 (the Community Room). Note, some rooms have non-functioning cameras and microphones. Rooms 2-113, 2-115, 2-117 and 2-118 have whiteboards. Some session organizers might be recording their own sessions. Check in with them if you have any concerns.

Social Media & Event Back Channel:

Many of us will be tweeting, tune into the #nycSOdata hashtag on twitter or instagram. Also, you can join BetaNYC’s slack! Then, you can login via < betanyc.slack.com > and navigate to the #event-nycsodata channel.

What to bring:

NYC School of Data is a conference with a  mix of panels, conversations, workshops, and projects. We recommend that you bring a: 

  • Note taking equipment. Laptop and power supply, if you are attending a workshop or office hour.
  • Refillable Water Bottle
  • Hand sanitizer and pocket tissues
  • COVID-19 vaccination documentation or proof of negative test results on tests taken on March 15th, 16th, or 17th.
  • Government issued ID, if you are sticking around for the closing session and want to drink adult beverages.

Our session organizers have worked hard to manage your expectations. Refer to their session notes for more information. Sessions will have technical and non-technical aspects. As a result, some may recommend laptops. If you bring your laptop, don’t forget your power adapter!

FYI – We will not have a coat check, but we will have shared coat racks around the facility.

Speakers and facilitators, please move your presentation to google slides or put them on a USB drive. Presentations should be delivered from the machine in the room. Please read your speaker’s email, you might be in a room with a projector with a 4:3 or 16:9 screen. Note, we will have some post-it notes, sharpies, white-board markers, and blue tape for organizers.

Thank you event sponsors!

We would like to thank the following event sponsors. Due to their support, we are able to provide you with a low-cost, healthy, and inclusive event — Thank you New York City’s Office of Technology, Reinvent Albany, The City, ESRI, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and CUNY Law School.

We send our heartfelt thank yous to our Open Data Week partners: The Open Data Team at New York City’s Office of Technology, Innovation and Data Through Design, and all of the session organizers and volunteers!

Health and Accessibility:

To attend this in-person event, you must provide COVID-19 vaccination card upon check in and wear a mask at all times (except when eating and drinking). We will have ample KF-94 masks in various sizes for you to wear. WE know that masking prevents the spread — this is the science, based on DATA!!

Check in will start at 9 AM. Keynote will start promptly at 10 AM; sessions will run till 5:15 PM. At 5:30 PM, we will host a closing session.

We’re working on getting the main stage live streamed. (Please stay tuned)

This year’s venue is the CUNY Law School and is easily accessed by public transit, bike, and car.

The venue is ADA compliant. Service animals are always accepted.

The conference will be delivered in English and will use technical terms. Sessions will vary and are designed for all levels — we will have introductory classes / discussions and very technical conversations. If you need sign language interpretation or have any other questions, please email us at schoolofdata@beta.nyc

Childcare:

We are providing on-site childcare. Registration closes on March 9th. If you were unable to register for onsite childcare, you’re welcome to bring your child(ren). Children who can be vaccinated, must be vaccinated. If they are going to eat conference food, please purchase them a ticket. Otherwise, please provide their own food and snacks. If you have any questions, please email us at schoolofdata+children@beta.nyc