What is Iron Viz: Student Edition?

How Iron Viz: Student Edition began

Tableau’s largest data visualization competition, Iron Viz, began based on the world-renowned Iron Chef cooking show during a Tableau Conference (TC) 2011 breakout session with a mere 300 people in attendance. Eleven years later, it has become a highly-anticipated, world-class keynote event. With the excitement around Iron Viz at TC, we wanted to create a space for students interested in developing their data skills through a fun and inclusive environment. And who doesn’t love some friendly competition? Iron Viz: Student Edition allows students to practice their Tableau skills and meet members of the Tableau Community before jumping into the larger Iron Viz competition. 

Who can participate in Iron Viz: Student Edition?

Students of all skill levels can participate in student Iron Viz as long as they’re currently enrolled at an accredited university. Whether you’re a new Tableau user or a data rockstar, you’re bound to gain new skills and inspiration in the process. 

Iron Viz: Student Edition data set and themes 

Iron Viz: Student Edition usually leverages the data sets used in the keynote Iron Viz competition at Tableau Conference. Our data sets have covered a range of topics, from weather to education to food-focused themes. This year’s data set is centered around movies, featuring a data set from IMDb in partnership with Data+Movies. It is composed of movie data including information on actors, IMDb ratings, fan ratings, performance, and more.

Get inspiration from other student vizzes by checking out the 2023 Iron Viz: Student Edition entries or get movie-themed inspiration from the Data+Movies inspiration gallery.

Iron Viz: Student Edition contest details

Students have 30 days starting from the open submission window to download and prep the data, then create a mind-blowing viz published to Tableau Public. 

Tableau Public launched in 2010 with the purpose of making data social and to ignite a new movement on the web. With an effort to offer a free online platform that anyone could use to explore, create, and publicly share data visualizations. By driving compelling conversations around data, Tableau Public making data online fun, useful, and beautiful.

Once a student’s viz is published on Tableau Public and submitted through the contest form, Tableau experts judge the entries based on four criteria and announce the top three winners.

Judges and scoring 

Our judges consist of Tableau experts from the Tableau Community and Tableau Partners. Judges will score vizzes based on the following criteria:

• (25 points) Beauty/Design: Is the visualization beautiful, relevant, and effective?
• (25 points) Storytelling: Is there a clear story being told or a question being explored, and is there appropriate context?
• (25 points) Analytical Depth: Is the data used in a way to explore?
• (25 points) Visualization Best Practices: Rate the visualization in overall data best practices

What is the prize for winning Iron Viz: Student Edition?

Now, the fun part! Any student who enters Iron Viz: Student Edition gets the chance to build their Tableau Public portfolio to increase their employability, learn something new, get inspired, and take their data skills to the next level with the support of the Tableau Community. 

The top three scoring visualizations will win a fully-paid trip to Tableau Conference ‘24, a $250 Tableau Store gift card, and the opportunity to be recognized on a global stage at Iron Viz.

We will also highlight the winning Iron Viz: Student Edition vizzes on the Iron Viz: Student Edition homepage and Tableau Public.

Tips for managing your time

With almost a full 2 months at your disposal, it might be difficult to plan out how to spend your time creating your viz entry. We’ve divided the viz-making process into four phases. We recommend you spend at least one week in each phase and dedicate a little extra time to the Design & Build and Refinement phases of the process. These phases will ensure you have given ample consideration to all parts of viz-creation to make your viz the best it can be!

Once you’re done making changes to your viz, go ahead and submit it to the form by January 1st, 2024 to make sure your entry is considered for the prizes. 

Learn more

• Submit your Iron Viz: Student Edition ‘24 entry to the Data+Movies challenge
• Stay up to date on Iron Viz: Student Edition.
• Hear from previous winners of the Iron Viz and Iron Viz: Student Edition competition here, sharing key insights into the competition and their journey to the top. 
• 3 data best practices to take your skills to the next level.
• Follow these hashtags on Twitter to get support from the Tableau Community: #TableauTip #TableauFF #DataFam