Welcome Nhung, our newest addition to the EdgeRed Melbourne team!
Hello Nhung Seidensticker!
With a decade-long journey in geospatial data science, Nhung joins our Melbourne team as a Senior Consultant. She brings a wealth of experience in leveraging spatial information to drive innovation across various sectors. Let’s dive into our conversation with Nhung and discover more about her passion for geospatial data science and her intriguing hobbies beyond the work realm.
So, why Geospatial?
I’ve always been fascinated by the power of spatial data to reveal hidden insights and solve real-world problems. Humans interact with the world through space, place and time. As such, our interactions with each other and place can tell us a story and create powerful visuals that can guide decision making and policy.
Adding a spatial component to analysis unlocks potential for organisations to operate efficiently, whether through real-world applications like optimised routing, strategic site selection, or enhanced resource allocation. This spatial insight facilitates a deeper understanding of geographical trends and patterns, enabling businesses to make decisions that are not only data-driven but also geographically contextualised, improving productivity.
Is Geospatial just maps?
Explaining geospatial data science is sometimes difficult, and the industry hasn’t done itself many favours by often referencing Google Maps as a starting point. Maps are just one of many outputs of spatial analysis. Known more commonly by the acronym GIS, Geographic Information Systems, it’s a system that includes people, processes, data, and technology.
Geospatial data typically combines location information with attribute information that includes a temporal component. Data sets used for spatial analysis involve large sets of data extracted from numerous sources in varying formats, including census data, satellite imagery, weather data, mobile phone data, social media, sensor data, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Geospatial data is most useful when it can be discovered, organised, and used in combination with traditional business data to derive insights.
What’s the coolest project you’ve ever worked on?
I’ve worked on many fascinating projects, which makes this a challenging question to answer. From my perspective, the coolest project would have to involve something that adds value to both the community and businesses. The project I’ve chosen may have been influenced by how our society attempted to recover from economic losses in Melbourne due to extensive lockdowns.
The City of Melbourne endeavoured to boost engagement and the economy through several initiatives, including Midweek Melbourne, curated events, and grants to assist business owners, as well as reactivating areas. My role was to analyse various datasets to gain insights into the effectiveness of these initiatives. This involved analysing and displaying pedestrian traffic in real-time from sensors throughout the city, as well as analysing traffic data and spending patterns to identify any growth in expenditures on items such as hotels and food. I also analysed data from Midweek Melbourne and enjoyed discovering new restaurants based on where people used their data.
The insights provided decision-makers with an opportunity to understand the effectiveness of the initiatives and helped to comprehend how the economy could be stimulated. I also found the technology stack used for the end-to-end analysis to be quite enjoyable.
What do you like doing outside of work?
I’m creative at heart and like to nurture this through an array of hobbies. I like constructing and creating tangible things and therefore drawn to LEGO, Metal Earth models, or paper theatres. When I need to disconnect and decompress, I like to do a jigsaw puzzle or read a book. I’m a big fan of gaming especially in the genre of souls-like games.
On a social level, I enjoy connecting with my friends through sharing a meal. I’m always on the lookout for culinary experiences to indulge in, as fine dining is one of my passions. Each of these hobbies enriches my life and brings a balance of joy and introspection to my daily routine.
Welcome again, Nhung! We’re excited to have you on board and look forward to embarking on new adventures together.
Our Melbourne team loves their brunch!
About EdgeRed
EdgeRed is an Australian boutique consultancy specialising in data and analytics. We draw value and insights through data science and artificial intelligence to help companies make faster and smarter decisions.
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