Key takeaways
- In 2020, prestigious institutions and tech giants launched numerous online courses to maintain education and skill development in data science.
- Microsoft partnered with Netflix to create free learning modules focused on beginner data science concepts and machine learning.
- The Microsoft modules are inspired by the film 'Over The Moon' and include practical projects using Python and Azure technologies.
- Stanford University offered projects in data science, targeting experienced candidates with backgrounds in machine learning and biology.
While normal education suffered a standstill in 2020, there were a lot of online courses and programs that were initiated by some of the most prestigious institutions as well as big tech giants so that the process of learning and skill development doesn’t suffer. As the trend has been for a few years now, some of the most interesting initiatives were seen in the field of data science. In this article, we have listed some of the prominent data science education programs and initiatives in 2020.
Microsoft’s Learning Modules Based On Netflix Movie
Microsoft, in collaboration with Netflix, has launched three new learning modules on beginners concepts in data science, along with machine learning and artificial intelligence. The design of these courses is inspired by the Netflix original film -- ‘Over The Moon,’ where a young girl Fei Fei, who builds a rocket to the moon, embarks on a mission to prove the existence of Moon Goddess.
Like the film, the modules are based on different missions -- a moon mission using Python Pandas library, predicting meteor showers by Python and VC Code, and recognising objects in images using Azure Custom Vision.
Notably, Microsoft, earlier this year, had also released a few learning modules inspired by real NASA engineers and scientists.
Price: Free of cost
Know more about it here.
Stanford Offers Projects in Data Science
Stanford invited experienced candidates in machine learning and statistics with a biological background to participate in a project to study the biology and epidemiology of the COVID-19 virus. This project class will investigate and model the virus using data science and machine learning tools.
Know more about it here.
World’s First Doctorate Of Business Administration In Data Science
The Rennes School of Business, France, in partnership with the International School of Engineering (INSOFE), India, has launched the world’s first Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in Data Science this year.
This program is aimed at aligning data science to a business and for building state-of-art decision support systems or automation tools to solve business problems.
The program deals with the data and digital aspects of a business. Students, undertaking this course, will design, build, and deploy systems that combine several digital technologies. It will help graduates lead teams of specialists from the fields of IoT, blockchain, cybersecurity and big data.
Price: €10,000 per year (~ ₹8 Lakh)
Know more about it here.
Initiatives By Various IITs
In 2020, different IITs have also announced various interesting courses, degrees, and programs in data science. Some of the most prominent ones are:
Post-Doctoral Fellowship At IIT Madras: In August, the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC DSAI) at IIT Madras called for application for the post-doctoral fellowship program into areas of Data Science, artificial intelligence, and other allied application domains. As per the notification, the selected candidates would be able to take up research on topics related to deep learning, theoretical machine learning, network analytics, reinforcement learning and multi-armed bandits, natural language processing, the system architecture for data science, and financial analytics, among others.
Price: The fellowship amount is between ₹45,000-55,000.
IIT Madras’ BSc In Data Science: In August, IIT Madras announced that it would be bringing a unique online degree and diploma-level programs for data science and programming. This program consists of three tiers. The first is a foundational program, followed by two diplomas in the second year. Interested students may continue to the third year, which allows them to opt for specialisation. Upon completion of the three years, candidates are awarded a BSc degree.
Price: For the foundational course - ₹4,000; for diploma - ₹5,000; for BSc course - ₹10,000.
Know more about it here.
Also Read: Top AI Initiatives By IITs In 2020
IIT Jodhpur’s Undergraduate Program in Data Science: IIT Jodhpur launched a new BTech degree program in data science and AI for the academic year 2020-21. This program consists of courses in computer science, mathematics, AI/ML, data science, and their related applications. Further, this program will also allow students to opt for specialisations in visual computing, language technologies, socio-digital realities, among others. They will also have the option to take up MBA(tech) in the fifth year to receive a dual degree from the School of Management and Entrepreneurship.
Price: The tuition fee is up to ₹300,000.
PG Certificate In Data Science From IIT Roorkee: IIT Roorkee collaborated with TSW, Executive Education arm of Times Professional Learning to launch a post-graduate certificate program in data science and machine learning. Designed specifically for working professionals, it is an 11-months program that has ten modules. For the last module, candidates are given the option to choose a specialisation in computer vision and image recognition, speech recognition or data engineering.
Price: ₹300,000/- + Taxes (There is a provision of 15% discount on course fee for the alumni of IIT-R)
IIT-R & Coursera Launch Online Data Science Program: IIT Roorkee has also partnered with Coursera to introduce a certificate program in data science. It will help students looking to skill up in data science, machine learning, data collection, visualisation and management, with training on Python and SQL programming.
The programs will be launched in early 2021.
IIT Kanpur’s Free Online Data Science Course: IIT Kanpur announced two free online courses on data science on its SWAYAM NPTEL platform. SWAYAM is a government-initiated program for equal and free access to teaching-learning resources. A two-part course, this data science course consists of -- Essentials of Data Science With R Software – 1: Probability and Statistical Inference and Essentials of Data Science With R Software – 2: Sampling Theory and Linear Regression Analysis.
The programs will be launched in early 2021.
