Love Data Week 2026 at UMD

International Love Data Week is a celebration of data, taking place every year during the week of Valentine's day. Inspired to share our own love of data, UMD began our own celebration of all things data starting in 2023. This annual event seeks to celebrate data, inform our campus data culture, strengthen our shared data literacy, and promote data privacy and stewardship.

The theme for 2026 is "Where's the data?" With data all around us, we encourage you to use Love Data Week 2026 to think about from where and how we get data, where we keep them, and how we keep them safe.

The Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment (IRPA), the Division of Information Technology (DIT), the College of Information, the STAMP, the University Career Center, and the University Libraries coordinate a series of data-related activities and events throughout the week to celebrate the use of data on campus.

Click to see details of Love Data Week Events at UMD

Click to learn more about the BTAA Data Viz Championship

Click to learn more about the Sharon A. La Voy Data Impact Award

Click to learn About the LDW Planning Team

Questions? Contact Us

Testudo at Love Data Week 2025 Open House

Featured Sessions

Explore some featured sessions during Love Data Week 2026. Visit our Events Page to see the complete list of sessions and events at UMD.

SEE ALL SESSIONS

LDW26 Kickoff: Fireside Chat

Join us to kick off Love Data Week 2026 at UMD in a fireside chat, featuring Dr. Stephanie Shonekan, Dean of ARHU, and Michelle Appel, Chief Data Officer.

2026-02-09T09:00:00-05:00

2026-02-09T09:45:00-05:00

Virtual Event

Learn more and register

Love Data Open House

Join members of the Love Data Week Planning Committee and several other data-loving units in the ESJ Atrium. There will be games, give-aways, and opportunities to talk with several of UMD's data experts. Visit us to help answer the question, "Where's the data?!"

2026-02-10T10:00:00-05:00

2026-02-10T14:00:00-05:00

Edward St. John (ESJ) Atrium

Learn more

Artwork titled Rising Mitigation by artist Jillian Pelto

Painting Science Stories

Jill Pelto, an artist and science communicator, will speak about using her paintings to share complex science stories to unique audiences. She incorporates scientific data directly into her paintings in ways that aim to be emotionally relevant and thought-provoking.

2026-02-11T15:30:00-05:00

2026-02-11T16:30:00-05:00

Virtual Event

Learn more and register

BTAA Data Viz Championship

Join us for the Data Viz Championship Showcase, a celebration of data storytelling across the BTAA. This session features the top data visualization entries from participating universities, including UMD students and staff!

2026-02-13T14:00:00-05:00

2026-02-13T15:00:00-05:00

Virtual Event

Learn more and register

WHAT TO EXPECT

KEY TOPICS

Select a topic to see related sessions.

Artificial Intelligence

BI & Data Visualization

Accessibility

Tips, Tricks, & Best Practices

Survey Guidance

Data Governance

Arts & Data

Data for Good

LDW26

EVENTS AT A GLANCE

DATA HELP

DATA ASSISTANCE

Need help with campus data?

We are here to help! Contact us at irpa@umd.edu or 301-405-5590. We provide support in using the kinds of data you see on reports.umd.edu, but we also partner with people across the campus on a variety of projects.

Scroll
to top of page