---

General Information

The training workshop aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to utilize machine learning techniques and Google Trends data for accurate and timely Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate nowcasting. Comprehensive compilation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) needs many data sources both administrative and survey data. Some of these sources supply data annually/ quarterly. Moreover, these datasets will be available only after 2-3 weeks of end of quarter. To address this, the workshop will explore the potential of Google Trends data as a leading indicator of economic activity. Participants will be introduced to a variety of machine learning techniques, including regression-based models, non-linear models like decision trees and support vector machines, ensemble methods, and neural networks. These techniques can help capture complex patterns, handle noise and outliers, and adapt to changing economic conditions. By combining Google Trends data with traditional economic indicators, participants will learn to build more accurate and robust GDP nowcasting models.

The workshop will offer practical training in essential data science techniques, including data cleaning, preprocessing, exploratory data analysis (EDA), handling missing data and outliers, addressing multicollinearity, analyzing time series data for stationarity, trends, and seasonality, feature engineering and selection, model building and evaluation, hyperparameter tuning, cross-validation, data visualization, and result interpretation. Participants will gain hands-on experience in applying these techniques to real-world data and interpreting the results. Ultimately, this training workshop aims to empower/enhance the capacity of the National Statistical System (NSS) to utilize Google Trends data and advanced machine learning techniques for accurate and timely nowcasting of economic indicators (GDP growth rate ), ultimately leading to data-driven decision-making and improved economic policy formulation.

---

Who: The workshop is designed for professionals from the following fields: National Accounts, Economics, Statistics, Data Science, Information Technology, and Related fields. You don't need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented at the workshop.

Where: Fraser Suites Abuja, Abuja, Nigerian. Get directions with OpenStreetMap or Google Maps.

When: Dec 16-20,2024. Add to your Google Calendar.

Requirements: Participants must bring a laptop with a Windows, Linux, Mac operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on. There are no pre-requisites, and we will assume no prior knowledge about the tools.

Contact: Please email yonas.yigezu@un.org , seidoui@un.org or belayt@un.org for more information.

---

Collaborative Notepad

We will use the Carpentries Etherpad collaborative notepad on this workshop collaborative document for sharing resources and collaboration during the workshop. It allows participants and instructors to write and edit text in real-time, making it an excellent tool to foster collaboration during workshops.

---

Surveys

Please be sure to complete these surveys before and after the workshop.

Pre-workshop Survey

Post-workshop Survey

---

Registration Link

Please use the following form to register for the workshop:

Click here to register for the workshop

---

Schedule

---

Syllabus