October 8-13, 2017. The International Scientific and Practical Conference Global Challenges and Data-Driven Science devoted to the problem of access, use and analysis of Big Data was held in St. Petersburg. About 150 people took part in the conference, including famous scientists and recognized experts from 34 countries. In total, the conference participants made more than 160 scientific presentations and took part in several workshops and scientific and practical seminars.

The conference included 3 panel discussions, 2 workshops, and several business meetings. The speakers touched upon a wide range of issues: from problems of storing and transferring Big Data to its role in the concept of smart cities. Scientists spoke about the importance of Big Data in the study of the ocean, agriculture, prediction of natural disasters risks. The practical section raised questions of the use of Big Data in the fields of metallurgy, urban studies and pedagogy. Participants discussed the rapid growth of Big Data accumulation and compiled a forecast of their future development.

The conference was organized by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology of the International Council for Science ICSU-CODATA, Russian Science Foundation, Geophysical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, KSA Innovation Group, MEKHANOBR-TEKHNIKA Research and Engineering Corporation, Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics of RAS, National Research Technological University (MISiS), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), and International Social Science Council (ISSC).