Summary Report on Four-Day Workshop
Title: Web Scraping to AI: A Data-Driven Journey from Extraction to Deployment
Duration: January 6–9, 2025
Venue: Seshadri Rao Gudlavalleru Engineering College
Organized by: AI & DS Department
Day 1: Python’s Playground Kickoff
The workshop began with an introduction to Python and its application areas, followed by a discussion on the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its comparison with human intelligence. Participants explored various AI subfields, including Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Computer Vision. Practical sessions included setting up Python and Jupyter Notebook environments, understanding data visualization techniques, and using Python libraries such as NumPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib. The day concluded with hands-on exercises in web scraping using BeautifulSoup, focusing on dynamic websites and multi-page data extraction.
Day 2-3: Introduction to Machine Learning – Minds & Machines Convergence
These sessions introduced Machine Learning concepts, covering supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning. Participants gained insights into the ML workflow, data preprocessing techniques, and regression models. Hands-on activities included building a regression model for the scraped dataset, evaluating models using MSE, R-squared, and MAE, and deploying ML models as web services. A case study on regression modeling and deployment provided practical exposure to real-world AI applications.
Day 4: 12-Hour Hackathon
The final day featured a competitive hackathon, where teams applied their acquired skills to develop end-to-end solutions. Participants scraped data, built ML models, and deployed AI-driven applications. This practical challenge fostered innovation, teamwork, and problem-solving skills among attendees.
Conclusion and Takeaways
The four-day workshop provided an in-depth understanding of web scraping, data analysis, machine learning, and AI deployment. The blend of theory and hands-on experience empowered participants with valuable industry-relevant skills. The event concluded with appreciation for the mentors, organizers, and enthusiastic participants who made it a success.