8 Best Virtual Data Science Conferences 2024

Looking to level up your data science game in 2024 without leaving the comfort of your home? Virtual conferences bring all expert consigliere and knowledge at the forefront onto one screen. Whether you're into machine learning, big data, or AI, there's a virtual conference for you. Check out this list of the top eight virtual data science conferences to attend in 2024!

8 Best Virtual Data Science Conferences

NeurIPS (Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems)

NeurIPS is one of the largest and most prestigious conferences in the field of AI and neural networks. It brings together renowned researchers, practitioners, and industry experts to present and discuss a wide spectrum of advances in deep learning and AI. NeurIPS, which focuses heavily on machine learning, offers attendees to learn about the most recent AI technological advancements.

Dates: December 10-15, 2024 **Key Speakers: **

• Lidong Zhou -- He is a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and has obtained wide recognition in the research communities of distributed systems, cloud computing, and AI.
• Fei-Fei Li -- Professor of computer science at Stanford, codirector of the Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute; she is one of the pioneers of computer vision and deep learning, an outspoken voice on ethical use; hence, her talks become priceless for both technical innovation and responsible AI development.

KDD (Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining)

KDD is the premier interdisciplinary conference in the field, bringing together data mining, big data, and AI under one umbrella. Strong practical applicability is the hall mark of this conference and thus very popular among professionals in the real-world data science and business intelligence environment.

Dates: August 24-29, 2024 Key Speakers:

• Ricard Gavalda – a renowned professor in computer science at UPC Barcelona Tech. His contributions have been enormous in the field of data mining and machine learning. His insights into the algorithms of streaming data provide a lot of value to professionals working on real-time data processing and mining large data sets.
• Alex Jaimes – He is currently Chief Scientist and Head of AI; he has expertise in AI, machine learning, and multimedia analysis. He speaks often on the pragmatic uses of AI in making sense of large-scale data from social media, which is why his talks tend to be quite captivating for those interested in actual AI use cases.

ICML (International Conference on Machine Learning)

ICML extensively covers the aspects of Machine Learning-from the very basic theory to practical implementation. A definite visit for any professional who focuses on building and/or enhancing machine learning models.

Dates: July 21-27, 2024 **Key Speakers: **

• Soumith Chintala – co-founded PyTorch, a framework that changed how developers and researchers used or worked with machine learning frameworks. He usually speaks at conferences about the future of AI or the role and importance of open-sourced frameworks in advancing the research of machine learning.
• Lucía Magis-Weinberg – Weinberg is a researcher and professor at the University of California, and her research work concerns the effects of adolescent mental health and technology use, adding a special interdisciplinary approach to how machine learning can be applied in social sciences and public health.

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Strata Data Conference

From O'Reilly, the Strata Data Conference covers big data, advanced analytics, and data engineering. This conference gives a clear look at how data science is shaping business and society from keynotes by leading industry experts.

Dates: May 13-16, 2024 Key Speakers:

• Hilary Mason – considered one of the popular speakers on machine learning and data strategy. She talks about the future of data science and how it can be applied to different industries.
• DJ Patil – he is a former U.S. Chief Data Scientist who helped develop data policies and drove efforts leveraging data for the public good. His work and talks have been focused on using data responsibly and with social impact.

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ODSC (Open Data Science Conference)

ODSC is the leading applied data science conference with several workshops and boot camps on everything from AI to big data. If you are interested in hands-on learning, this is the event for you.

Dates: October 29-31, 2024 Key Speakers:

• Alex Pentland – He is a Professor at MIT and Founder of the MIT Connection Science, an internationally recognized thought leader in big data, artificial intelligence, and the societal impact of technology. His work bridges cutting-edge AI research with real-world applications.
• Anna Goldie – a Senior Staff Research Scientist at Google DeepMind. She works actively on building mechanisms for AI in problem-solving. Her talks usually relate to the juncture of machine learning and reinforcement learning for AI applications.

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PyData Conference

PyData Global is all about the Python community and its involvement in data science, from machine learning frameworks down to visualization libraries. PyData talks about open-source solutions and community collaboration.

Dates: December 3-5, 2024 Key Speakers:

• Katharine Jarmul – With her general reputation as an advocate of responsible practices concerning data, Katharine Jarmul is a specialist in machine learning that preserves privacy. She often speaks on data science and ethics interlaced; hence, she's a thought leader in responsible AI.
• Travis Oliphant – As the creator of NumPy and being one of the founding members of Anaconda, Travis Oliphant holds quite some importance in the Python and data science world. He has completely changed the working of Python used for data analysis and scientific computing.

IEEE Big Data Conference

The IEEE Big Data Conference will address big data technologies and changes happening in industries. The main focus is on large-scale data analytics, big data infrastructure, and applications across different sectors.

Dates: December 15-18, 2024 Key Speakers:

• Cornelia Caragea – Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Caragea's research is in big data and AI. She is at the forefront of the discipline, integrating machine learning and large-scale data analytics.
• Haixun Wang – Currently VP of Engineering at Instacart, Haixun Wang has immense experience in big data infrastructure and machine learning. A large number of his talks feature how big data could be used to enhance real-world applications from e-commerce to logistics.

The Data Science Conference

The Data Science Conference is one of a kind, as this conference is strictly for data science professionals and has no vendor or sponsor talks. A very good place to connect with your peers and strictly focus on the technical and professional side of data science.

Dates: May 23-24, 2024 Key Speakers:

• Kim Keating – Kim Keating brings a ton of experience as VP of Data Science in the field of telecom at AT&T and shares his enlightenment on how data science drives businesses to innovate. His talks show both the challenges and opportunities that come with scaling data science teams within large organizations.
• Olga Liahkovich – a Senior Applied Data Scientist at Microsoft. She works on business solutions through data science. Her current field of expertise includes predictive analytics, machine learning, and informed decision-making based on insights from the data.

Tips for Attending Virtual Conferences

Of course, attending a virtual conference isn't going to be exactly like attending one in person, but with a few preparatory steps, you can get the most out of it.

1. Have an Elevator Pitch: One should always be prepared to introduce themselves whenever networking. If you are looking at how to prepare for behavioral interviews, then here is a guide on Data Science Behavioral Interview Questions.
2. Get the Best SQL Prep: SQL is a big deal at data science conferences, so make sure you're ready! Head to DataLemur’s SQL Tutorial to brush up on your skills with free questions across all levels.

If you're itching for in-person events, don't worry—there are also plenty of Data Science Conferences to attend in 2024.