XXV Dia de l’Estadística a Catalunya – Summary of the event

On Monday, October 20, 2025, the 25th edition of the Dia de l’Estadística a Catalunya was held in the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), convened by the Societat Catalana d’Estadística (SoCE) and organized by the Servei de Consultoria Matemàtica (MCS-UAB).

This year, the celebration coincided with World Statistics Day (which is observed every five years), a date dedicated to highlighting the crucial role of statistics in the development of knowledge and decision-making.

The event saw wide participation from professionals, students, and researchers in the fields of statistics and data science. The day was inaugurated by the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Dr. Juan Jesús Donaire; the Deputy Director of MCS-UAB, Dr. Llorenç Badiella; the President of SoCE, Dr. Isabel Serra; and the UAB Rector, Dr. Javier Lafuente.

From left to right: Dr. Isabel Serra (President of SoCE), Dr. Javier Lafuente (UAB Rector), Dr. Juan Jesús Donaire (Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, UAB), Dr. Llorenç Badiella (Deputy Director of the Mathematical Consulting Service, UAB)

One of the highlights of the day was the lecture by Dr. Daniel Peña (Emeritus Professor, Carlos III University of Madrid), titled “The Contribution of Statistics to Artificial Intelligence”, in which he reflected on the evolution of statistical learning in the era of big data and the potential synergies between explainable statistical methods and modern artificial intelligence techniques. The session was introduced and moderated by Dr. Montserrat Guillén (Professor at the University of Barcelona)

Link to the presentation slides

Dr. Montserrat Guillén (Professor at UB) and Dr. Daniel Peña (Emeritus Professor at UC3M) during the speaker’s presentation

Lecture by Dr. Daniel Peña

After the coffee break, the day continued with the Recreational Activity

Buscant el/la millor “Statistician &
Data Scientist of Catalonia”

A two-stage competition led by Dr. Víctor Navas. The award for “Best Statistician & Data Scientist” was given to Dr. Pedro Delicado, who stood out for demonstrating knowledge across all the areas covered in the challenges.

Finalists of the Recreational Activity

Next, the awards for the XXIII Student contest were presented, recognizing the best undergraduate, master’s, and biostatistics projects:

Photograph of the winners (or their representatives) of the Student Contest along with those who presented the certificates

Link to resolution of the XXIII Student contest of Applied Statistics

The event was closed by Dr. Lluís Quer, coordinator of the Applied Statistics degree at UAB, who reviewed all the activities carried out throughout the day and expressed sincere thanks to all collaborators.

The lunch at the Faculty of Sciences’ restaurant allowed participants to continue exchanging ideas and contacts in a more relaxed atmosphere.

In the afternoon, the annual Assembly of the Societat Catalana d’Estadística was held.

SoCE Logo

This XXV anniversary has been a great opportunity to highlight the progress made by statistics in Catalonia while also opening new perspectives in a context increasingly shaped by big data and artificial intelligence.