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Participating in a NDP Data Challenge

Participating in NDP Data Challenges is an excellent opportunity to collaborate on the development of scientific workflows and explore innovative solutions to complex problems.

Joining a Data Challenge

  1. Log in to NDP
    • Ensure you have an active account and credentials to access the platform.
  2. Explore Challenges
    • Navigate to the Education Hub and select Explore. Challenges are listed according to their publication dates.

  3. Select a Challenge

    • Once you find a challenge that interests you, click Open to view its details.

  4. Review Information

    • Carefully read all the details and instructions before joining a challenge. Joining a challenge involves the allocation of resources, so ensure it aligns with your availability and goals.

  5. Join the Challenge

    • Click Join Data Challenge to initiate team creation.
    • By default, you will be added to your team as the first member.
    • If the challenge permits individual participation, you can name your team and proceed.

  6. Add Team Members

    • Enter the emails of your team members, preferably academic accounts.
    • Ensure that none of the emails are associated with another active team in the same challenge, as this will prevent team creation.

  7. Confirm Participation

    • Upon successful team creation, you and your team members will become active participants in the challenge.

Participating in a Data Challenge

Once you join a challenge, follow these steps to maximize your participation:

Working with Modules

  • Each team is assigned the challenge's modules as new workspaces.
  • These modules will appear as workspaces in the Jupyter widget on JupyterHub.
  • Teams can enhance their workflows by adding additional data from the catalog and integrating custom code.

Working on JupyterHub

  • Before starting, thoroughly review the instructions for the data challenge and each module, especially those related to resource reservations.
  • Follow the guidelines to optimize resource usage and align with the challenge's objectives.

NOTE: If you’re unfamiliar with NDP workspaces, we highly recommend reviewing this brief tutorial to get started.

Shared Storage

  • Each NDP user is allocated persistent storage on JupyterHub. Upon joining a challenge, your team will receive shared storage identified by the folder name shared-storage-your-team-name.
  • Changes made in this folder are visible to all team members and persist across sessions.

Best Practices for Shared Storage

  1. Coordinate File Modifications

  2. Shared storage does not support version control, so avoid simultaneous file edits to prevent conflicts.

  3. Optimize Storage Usage

  4. Use shared storage for frequently accessed code or partial data products essential to your workflow.

  5. Avoid File Overwrites

  6. Establish clear team protocols for modifying files to minimize risks of accidental data loss.

By following these guidelines, you can effectively collaborate and contribute to the success of your team in the NDP Data Challenge.