How the Statistics community can best respond to the demand for data science and analytics education was the topic of a presentation by the Institute’s director Dr. Michael Rappa at the Joint Statistical Meetings held this week in Boston. Data Science and its relationship to conventional statistics degree programs is the focus of an intensifying dialogue in academic departments across the country. Speaking to an audience of 200 attendees, Dr. Rappa encouraged Statistics faculty to play a leadership role in developing new curricula that squarely targets the broad set of skills individuals need to be productive data scientists. The invited special presentation was part of a session organized by Dr. Ming Li and chaired by Dr. Martha Gardner titled “The Industrial Internet and Cyber-Physical Systems, an Opportunity for Statisticians in the Era of Big Data and Data Science.” Also speaking were Bill Ruh, Vice President and Global Technology Director at General Electric; and Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, Presidential Innovation Fellow with The White House and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
