XC-410 · Spark! Data Science for Good Practicum

XC-410, also known as Data Science for Good or DS4G, was a Cross-College Challenge practicum focused on public-interest technology. Students worked in teams with mission-driven partners and used data, software, and careful stakeholder communication to make practical progress on civic problems.

The course previously appeared under the XC-475 number before moving to XC-410; this page uses XC-410 because that is the current canonical record in the local course evidence.

What students worked on

Projects sat at the intersection of data science, software engineering, and social impact: housing, public health, education, environmental justice, government accountability, and other domains where technical work has to be useful to people outside the classroom.

Current status

The course is retired, but it belongs here because it was a real student-facing course I taught and because its civic-tech model shaped later practicum work.