Leading the way in Data Science
The rapid digitisation of society has led to an unprecedented deluge of data.
In 1992, an estimated 100GB of data was generated every day.
By 2015, a staggering 2.5 quintillion bytes of data was created on a daily basis.
This enormous amount of data is produced on devices such as smartphones and smartwatches, generated by social media activities or on the web, through sophisticated imaging devices in genomics and medicine, through sensors and cameras - and travel cards in our “smart” cities.
Since its launch in 2014, City, University of London’s MSc in Data Science has equipped students with the tools, methodologies and techniques to extract valuable and useful knowledge from data.
The year-long undergraduate course has been in high demand ever since – from 30 students in 2014 to 142 in 2017.
From October 2017, City will take in its first students for the new MSci four-year undergraduate degree in Data Science.
Lecturer in Applied Data Science in the Department of Computer Science, Dr Cagatay Turkay, speaks of the interdisciplinary nature of the subject:
“Data Science lies at the intersection of several fields of research bringing together knowledge and research from statistics, applied mathematics and various sub fields of computer science such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, data mining, data visualisation and data management.
The MSci in Data Science is expected to assist in addressing the very high demand for and shortage of data scientist skills.
Dr Turkay says data scientists can find themselves in various roles within a wide range of businesses and governmental organisations working in areas such as health, retail, transport, manufacturing, media or digital technologies:
“The roles could be within technology companies developing solutions for other industries, or within the in-house data science teams of companies that put data at the core of their business. Depending on your interest and focus, you can choose to be on various roles: developing effective infrastructure for data management, developing algorithms and computational tools to analyse and model data, or designing and developing strategies and policies together with domain experts."
“Alternatively, you could choose to take an academic route and continue studying further in developing novel techniques and approaches on theoretical and applied aspects of data science. Given the wide applicability of data scientist skills, you could expect to work collaboratively as part of interdisciplinary teams combating grand research challenges.”
Data Science education at City builds on the expertise and research excellence within the Department of Computer Science, specifically within the fields of machine learning and visualisation.
It brings together foundational computer scientist skills such as algorithmic thinking and programming with fundamental data scientist skills such as statistical analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data, and visual analytics.
This is a powerful combination -- data scientists having both of these skills will not only master using existing solutions but will also be capable of building innovative data science solutions tailored for the needs of the application at hand.
The MSci programme distinguishes itself from the MSc with its focus on building strong foundations in Computer Science as well as equipping students with comprehensive Data Science skills. MSci students will learn computer science skills such as software design and development, working as part of a development team. They will also acquire an understanding of professional issues in information technologies.
Data mining is the process of sorting through large data sets to identify patterns and establish relationships to solve problems through data analysis. Data mining tools allow enterprises to predict future trends.