TDS Project 1 was an experiment

TDS Project 1 wasn’t just a student project. It was a research and social experiment, too.

We tested two skills - analytics and design. The design tests were diverse – and students fared worse there.

Design may matter more in the AI era, and I’m glad some designs are brilliant. (But not diverse/creative enough.) I also learnt that Gemini beats Midjourney, which beats ChatGPT for image generation.

I asked them to contribute to open source. Most PRs were trivial. But five students made a real difference. For example, this PR to Marimo is excellent!

Most importantly, they’re actively collaborating now - a critical skill in the AI era. One student WhatsApp-ed me:

Before this i was not interacting with anyone
Because of the online nature of this degree

But TDS helped me to connect with everyone
We are having meet regularly
We divide questions with each other
And then we solve and discuss

THIS is what I’ve been trying to teach for 5 years now!