Dr Elena Simperl, Continuing Professional Development Course Director, WSI Associate Professor and Scientific Director of the European Data Science Academy, explained, "Data science is a critical competence for our economy. Our new series of short professional courses is an integral and essential part of our training portfolio, alongside our postgraduate degrees. With these new online courses, we reach out to decision makers, business analysts, IT developers, and other groups of practitioners interested in learning about some of the most promising technologies and application domains in data science, including digital marketing, finances, and healthcare."
The initial Foundations of Data Science course will welcome its first intake in the autumn (roughly between Q3 and Q4), followed by specialised options in the areas of Data Science for Marketing, Finance and Healthcare launching in 2017. The application process will be highly selective to ensure each participant is fully prepared for the demands of the course.
Delivered part-time and wholly online over four weeks via Instructure's Canvas learning platform, the courses will enable participants to study with professionals and leading academics. Supplementary workshops will provide opportunities to meet with fellow participants, tutors and teachers, and to present their work to potential employers. Fees will be competitive with current face-to-face and online options; corporate rates will also be available.
The University of Southampton is ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world and its Web Science Institute is the home to a uniquely rich network of experts in computer science, Web science, mathematical and statistical sciences, health science, social science, economics and business. As a result of the WSI's pioneering work in data science, the expertise is transforming the way that data are collected, integrated and converted into knowledge and evidence, informing decision making in business, industry and government sectors.
WSI is also the founding partner of the UK's Open Data Institute in Tech City. The WSI's current training programme has reached many tens of thousands of people through its MOOCs in Web Science, Linked Data, and the Power of Social Media, and its university-level Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral programmes provide a career grounding in the digital and information economy.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Director of the Web Science Institute, said, "The future of education is on-line and this partnership will enable the WSI to develop and deliver state of the art data science courses that are available to busy professionals wherever they are based."
CEG Digital and the Web Science Institute are working in partnership to develop, market and deliver the world leading courses to students in the UK and worldwide. Geoff Webster, Managing Director of CEG Digital, said, "We believe there is enormous demand for high quality professionally focused courses in this area and we are excited to be working with the world-leading academics at Southampton. We believe this will be a very attractive proposition for professionals, companies and entrepreneurs, in the UK and around the world."
Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Director of the Web Science Institute, said, "The future of education is on-line and this partnership will enable the WSI to develop and deliver state of the art data science courses that are available to busy professionals wherever they are based."
CEG Digital and the Web Science Institute are working in partnership to develop, market and deliver the world leading courses to students in the UK and worldwide. Geoff Webster, Managing Director of CEG Digital, said, "We believe there is enormous demand for high quality professionally focused courses in this area and we are excited to be working with the world-leading academics at Southampton. We believe this will be a very attractive proposition for professionals, companies and entrepreneurs, in the UK and around the world."
*QS World University Rankings 2015/16
