One week from today, the second Big Data Congress will kick off in Saint John with a host of internationally renowned thinkers and, very likely, a huge turnout from the startup community.

Last year, about 600 people braved the cold to attend the inaugural Congress – an astonishing number given the time of year and the fact the event had not been held before.

The goal for that conference was simply to provide a showcase for what Big Data is and how it can help all businesses and organizations.  This year, organizers T4G and the New Brunswick Information Technology Council want to build on that and deepen the discussion on how organizations should be using data to improve performance.

The list of speakers to help explore the topic includes:

--  Clayton Christensen, the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is regarded as one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth and his ideas have been widely used in industries and organizations throughout the world.

--  Kevin Slavin, Co-founder of Area/Code in 2005 and the head of the “Playful Systems” division of MIT’s Media Lab.

--  Rick Smolan, the creator of the “Day in the Life” book series. His latest project is The Human Face of Big Data, for which he and his team collected data from people around the world, including snapshots of their lives and responding to thought-provoking questions about their dreams, interests, and views.

--  Shel Israel and Robert Scoble, co-authors of Age of Context, in which they examine the convergence of six technology forces: mobile, social media, Big Data, wearable technology, location, and sensors. They are also the authors of Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers.

The Congress begins Monday at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre with registration and technical sessions, at which participants can learn the what, why and how of Big Data. The main sessions with the guest speakers will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

As an added feature, the Congress this year will include the Student Superpower Challenge on Wednesday, Feb. 26. It will be a chance for teens to learn about technology in sessions led by Hilary Mason, an acclaimed data scientist and cofounder of HackNY, and David Alston, chief marketing officer of Introhive and the volunteer founder of New Brunswick’s Kids Coding Project. The participating teens will develop projects in the coming months and pitch them in May.