Tag: data science

CityFibre partners with the University of Edinburgh to encourage learners to pursue careers in data science

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre network, has teamed up with the Data Education in Schools project at the University of Edinburgh to create a learning tool that helps school pupils develop skills in data science.

Data Education in Schools is part of the DDI Skills Gateway – a £6.9m investment in data skills and education as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. CityFibre’s support of the project comes as it is investing more than £100m to bring its full fibre network to within reach of almost every home and business across the city.

The project supports the SQA’s Data Science National Progression Award (NPA), a school level qualification in data science, which is the first of its kind. CityFibre provided a data set and problem statement which has been developed into an end-to-end example activity, guiding users through the steps of solving a real-world business problem using data.

This allows students to get practical data science experience and develop an understanding of how data is used in society, whilst highlighting the benefits in applying a data solution to a business problem. It has been designed in such a way that it can be done virtually if required, ensuring the programme is accessible to all. It also includes the flexibility so that the business question can be changed and different outputs developed.

The programme has now been successfully trialled in schools, with one school reporting three senior pupils deciding to study data science at university on the back of completing the NPA. Teaching resources are now being developed with the programme being rolled out across the UK.

Elaine Doherty, Head of Data Insights at CityFibre, said: “As soon as we heard about the NPA Data Science award and its potential to encourage the next generation to get involved in data science, we really wanted to support the project.

“Across our world-class full fibre networks, we handle massive amounts of data and can see the value of managing data well, and the massive benefits data can bring to businesses.

“The skills required to handle data effectively are transferrable across a number of different sectors, and these skills are becoming more and more sought after in an increasingly digital workforce. We are thrilled to see how our partnership has developed into such an engaging tool and hope it helps to encourage the next generation of data scientists.”

Kate Farrell, Director of Development and Professional Learning, Data Education in Schools at the University of Edinburgh, added: “Schools have found it so valuable having access to a local dataset.

“Educators have appreciated seeing how data science can take place in the workplace and learners find it useful to see that the skills they are learning in class can be applied in the workplace.

“The CityFibre resource is particularly welcomed by educators because it gives learners an understanding of the assessment for the National Progression Award in Data Science and a chance to practice their skills.”

CityFibre is currently rolling out full fibre digital infrastructure across Edinburgh, future-proofing the city’s connectivity and enabling residents, businesses and services to benefit from fast, reliable internet services.

Across the UK, CityFibre is already working with Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen and an ever-increasing number of partners, offering some of the fastest and most competitive broadband packages available.

Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and register their interest at www.cityfibre.com/PR-Register

For more information about the University of Edinburgh’s Data Science National Progression Award, visit https://www.de.ed.ac.uk/project/national-progression-award-data-science.

Data science scholarships on offer to bright minds in Scotland

EXPLORE Data Science Academy (EDSA) is investing up to £250,000 in the strongest and highest achieving graduates in Scotland by offering as many as 40 free scholarships for its six- month online data science courses.

Applications are open now until the 6th June 2021.

EDSA is inviting top graduates that have excelled in their studies and consistently performed well academically to apply and expand their knowledge in Data Science. The EDSA has trained over 1000 young data scientists in South Africa since 2017 and has a graduate employment rate of over 90% at above average starting salaries.

Its courses were recently recognised by Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has partnered with EDSA to offer data science learning to young Africans. 

“We believe that our data science course formula, which includes self-study, team challenges, real world problem solving, and world class facilitators, can produce similar results in the UK,” said Shaun Dippnall, CEO of EDSA.

“The higher education system is not producing a sufficient number of work-ready graduates. Our courses are designed to ensure that our students, once graduated, have both the technical and practical skills needed in the workplace,” Dippnall adds.

On completion, the EDSA will assist graduates to find employment through its network.

Skills shortages

A recent survey found that 73% of UK firms believe they lack the talent to complete AI and data science initiatives. EXPLORE Data Science Academy is bridging that gap by offering a suite of comprehensive online courses including Data Science, Data Engineering, Data Analytics, and Business Intelligence, that deliver specialist training in a real-world environment.

Dippnall believes this is an ideal opportunity for highly talented Britons to top up their skills and embark on an exciting career in one of the most sought-after careers at no cost.

“As data becomes the currency of modern business, the race to become data-driven has seen organisations investing heavily in core analytics skills, but lack of support, funding and time available for upskilling are cited as current challenges within the UK data science community,” Dippnall says.

Real world problem solving

EDSA’s courses are practical and deal with real-world problems in business.  “The innovative design of our learning platforms and the passion of our scientist facilitators equip EXPLORE students to do great things.  Facilitators are experienced in tackling real-world problems and skilfully mentor learners throughout the programme,” he adds.

While the EXPLORE Data Science Academy is new to the UK, its consultancy division EXPLORE AI has been delivering artificial intelligence solutions for Britain’s largest water utility supplier, Thames Water, as part of a project to monitor the supply and demand on its network. There are more than 70 data scientists from EXPLORE AI working for Thames Water, many of which graduated from EDSA.

“The Thames Water success story validates EDSA’s decision to expand out of the South African context and take its place on the world stage. We are excited about our entry into the UK market and I encourage exceptional graduates to apply.   This could well be the gateway for 40 such candidates to embark on a thrilling and rewarding career – at no cost.  What have you got to lose?” concludes Dippnall.

Data Science Course details

Learners will gain an overview of Data Science and Machine Learning – the skills required to be a data scientist.  In the Fundamentals phase they learn how to clean, analyse and visualise data as well as how to effectively communicate the findings. During Machine Learning, students solve real-world problems by building regression, classification and unsupervised learning algorithms in Python. This involves data exploration insight building, improving and communicating models from a raw and unstructured dataset.

Topics Covered:

Data Science Fundamentals

  • SQL – Create and query a SQL database to extract valuable information
  • Python Programming – Create Python functions to process and analyse datasets
  • Visualisation – Building dynamic and interactive dashboards using Power BI

Machine Learning

  • Regression – Learn about linear regression, variable selection, feature engineering, regularisation, decision trees, parametric methods, ensemble methods and bootstrapping. Build regression models and test the results of forecasts.
  • Classification – Learn about logistic regression, natural language processing, decision trees, support vectors, neural networks, ensemble methods and hyperparameter tuning. Build and optimise classification models to improve the accuracy of predictions.
  • Unsupervised Learning – Learn to apply unsupervised techniques, clustering, dimensionality reduction and recommendation systems to gather insight and derive patterns from unstructured data

Have what it takes to be a data scientist?

To apply for a free slot in this world class data science course, applicants must go to https://explore-datascience.net/ and undertake an aptitude test to qualify for selection. 

The scholarship application window is open now until and the 6th June.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCkwnPur7jA for more information about EDSA’s courses.