Taught By

Yashita Tanwar

Yashita Tanwar is an award-winning technologist and 4th year Informatics student at the University of Washington, specializing in Software Engineering, Data Science, and Product Management. She is a SWE Hacks winner, serves as the Technology Lead of a leading student Informatics organization, and is an AI research intern at the Imoukhuede Lab at the University of Washington.

As a software engineering intern at Shades and Quadrant Technologies, Yashita has built full-stack applications, developed misinformation detection features, and engineered automated deployment pipelines. She has held leadership roles across nonprofits and youth organizations, including serving as President of VTSeva's Youth Board, where she led 50+ volunteers in high-impact service initiatives.

A passionate mentor and educator, Yashita has taught coding camps, guided Hack for Social Good teams, and helps students turn technical skills into meaningful research projects for competitive college applications.

Week by Week Curriculum

Week 1: Introduction to Data Science & Social Impact

What is data science?
Overview of social impact research
Project planning and proposal basics

Week 2: Research Questions & Python Basics

Formulating effective research questions
Introduction to Python and Jupyter Notebooks
Basic programming concepts

Week 3: Data Collection & Cleaning

Finding and exploring datasets
Data cleaning with pandas
Understanding variables and data structure

Week 4: Data Visualization

Visualizing data with matplotlib and seaborn
Principles of effective data storytelling

Week 5: Statistics & Analysis

Descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, correlation)
Introduction to basic statistical analysis in Python
Optional: Introduction to modeling and regression

Week 6: Presenting Research & Next Steps

Presenting research findings
Reflecting on impact and learning
Exploring further opportunities in data science

Possible Final Project Themes

Education Inequity (using Census or school district data)
Climate Impacts (air pollution, temperature change, flood zones)
Healthcare Access (insurance, hospital density, health outcomes)
Housing & Gentrification (rent prices, evictions, demographics)
Online Misinformation (social media trends, sentiment analysis)
Criminal Justice (incarceration rates, bail reform data)
Mental Health (youth mental health, access to care, stress factors)

Data Science Community Impact Research

In Partnership With