Students from the University of Maryland and American University competed in the 7th Annual Smith Analytics Consortium Datathon Finale on April 10, 2026, presenting data-driven recommendations to help connect Marylanders to more jobs and economic opportunity through improved transportation and mixed-use community development. The 15-day competition, open to all UMD and AU students, drew 21 graduate and undergraduate teams and distributed $7,500 in total cash prizes.
This year’s datathon was sponsored by the Maryland Department of Information Technology, marking the state’s first sponsorship of the competition, and was hosted in collaboration with American University and Deloitte. Teams used datasets from Maryland’s open data portal to provide recommendations to the Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, and DoIT on identifying specific locations, roadway corridors, or railway station areas where the creation of mixed-use communities could best improve access to employment and prosperity.
Taking first place and earning a $3,000 prize was Team Syntax Errors, a cross-university group comprising UMD students Archit Tiwari, Aditya Agarwal, Anaushka Taneja, Rushil Joshi, Gregory Butler, and Blake Simonds, along with AU graduate student Hettie Bawden. Their solution focused on first- and last-mile improvements for commuters in Baltimore City and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel Counties through micro-transit feeders and at-home shuttle collection services connecting residents to larger transit stations. It was the first time a cross-university team won the competition, with four of the six finalist teams falling into that category.
The finale’s judging panel included DoIT Secretary Katie Savage, Julia Fischer of DoIT, Jim Palma of the Maryland Department of Commerce, and Rashmi Mathur and Elizabeth Muse of Deloitte. The Maryland DoIT has already expressed interest in extending its partnership for next year’s competition.
KEY QUOTES:
“One of the best things about being young is that you haven’t yet learned to stop asking questions, to accept the status quo. It’s very important that wherever you go, whether you choose to join us in the public sector, whether you go into the private sector, or maybe you start something of your own, that you do everything you can to always keep that spirit of innovation alive.”
Katie Savage, Secretary, Maryland Department of Information Technology
“I think today’s generation of students has an incredible amount of ideas and skills to solve real problems. These datathons and similar competitions bring out the best in our students. Thank you to the students for spending their time and hard work on these projects and thank you to our partners from MD DoIT, American University and Deloitte for their support of one of the best competitions on campus.”
Prabhudev Konana, Dean, Robert H. Smith School of Business
“Being in connection with students is important, given it’s the pipeline of our future. Being able to interact with and help them develop important skills, that’s exactly the kind of thing Deloitte likes to do. Seeing new points of view and how students bring fresh perspectives to tough problems is always invigorating on a personal level.”
Rashmi Mathur, Managing Director, Deloitte
“It’s validating to know that the students are doing these projects with real data and coming up with insights that the state of Maryland will consider. They came to us asking for out-of-the-box projects and ideas, and my hope is that we delivered on that front.”
John Bono, Director, Smith Analytics Consortium
