Even though India has seen an onslaught of online data science programs, both in short-term and long-term format, there are few university-backed, full-time data science programmes in India that offer dedicated, rigorous data science courses. While we do have data science programmes that are housed in specific department at the undergraduate level, for example a CS degree will have a component on machine learning and programming, they lack an interdisciplinary approach.
Even full-time MBA programs offer a component on business analytics but do not provide a holistic understanding of this interdisciplinary field. Meanwhile, India’s established B-schools are offering diplomas in Business Analytics. However, having a specific data science specialization doesn’t give enough insights to develop the skillset. On the other hand, MOOCs (most working professionals opts for) delivered in an online or in a hybrid format are often panned for lacking depth and rigour that a University programme can offer.
Is It Time To Give Data Science Its Due Credit With University-Backed Programme?
The big question is, with the current shortage of data science professionals, how will India Inc fill the talent gap. According to a NASSCOM Industry report, Indian analytics firms will face a shortage of 2 lakh data science professionals. But the analytics job market is only expected to grow by leaps and bounds, with 5 lakh job openings for data scientists in 2018. In fact, our annual Analytics and Data Science India Jobs Study 2017 highlighted that almost 36 per cent of advertised analytics jobs in India demand R as a core skill and another 30 per cent Python, followed by Hadoop, SAS and Spark, among others.
This raises the question – should data science be conferred a status of separate discipline in Universities, just like Business Management & Economics and Statistics. Given how data science has become a crucial part of organizations, it is time Universities launched a standard roadmap for data science education. There is a growing need for entry-level engineering college graduates across organizations and a dedicated, long-term data science program at an undergraduate and Masters level can help create a foundation for data science training and add to India’s talent pipeline.
MUIT Noida’s School of Data Science has launched data science focused programs that prepares undergraduates, graduates and working professionals for a career in this lucrative field. According to Sidharth Bhargava of MUIT Noida’s School of Data Science, with analytics becoming the bloodline of the corporate ecosystem, it is time to give this ‘career path’ it’s due. A University program allows students to spend more time in learning and understanding the nuances of Data Science upgrading them with skills to be called ‘Specialists’ in their domain, he observed.
MUIT Noida Introduces School Of Data Science With Ivy Pro School As Knowledge Partner
Given the need for specialists in data science programme, MUIT Noida has launched a dedicated School of Data Science which offers comprehensive suite of residential programs tailored to a broad audience — undergraduates, MS program and a PG Diploma programme for early stage and senior professionals.
Helmed by a stellar academic faculty, drawn from Computer Science, Engineering & Statistics backgrounds, MUIT Noida’s School of Data Science has partnered with a growing network of industry partners to ensure students receive hands-on training during the programme and gain enough experience to become job-ready.
According to Sidharth Bhargava, “Data Science is the game changer in world of works and is fundamentally changing the way core business functions operate. MUIT Noida’s School of Data Science is established to contribute to growing Data Science ecosystem by way of providing well educated work force and basic research work in the field.”
The UGC-recognised University has teamed up with Ivy Professional School, consistently ranked as one of Top 10 data science/data analytics institute by Analytics India Magazine as their Knowledge Partner. With an emphasis on research and hands-on training, the curriculum includes a broad range of elective courses, that helps students acquire training in a domain of their choice.
Ivy Pro School is the official training partner for leading companies like Genpact, Capgemini, HSBC, Cognizant and PayPal among others and has trained 10,000+ professionals, working in 75+ analytics companies. Besides, the faculty is also drawn from top tier institutes like IIM, IIT & ISI.
AIM caught up with School of Data Science alumnus who shared their learning experience and talked about the industry connect, in-depth curriculum which helped them land a good job in data science industry. According to MSc 2016 batch passout Vaibhav Nellore, who currently works as a Data Scientist in Genpact, “The course helped in sharpening my skills and throughout the program, we had the opportunity to interact with industry experts which gave us a peek into how data science is applied in industry settings. It was a complete hands-on learning experience with industry level projects.”
Here’s A Look At Their Top 3 Data Science Programs
1) BTech in CS with Data Analytics: A dedicated, undergraduate four-year degree programme is geared at educating students in field of Computer Science and skilling them in in-demand tools and techniques such as R, SAS, SPSS, Tableau, MySQL and Oracle, among others. This residential, full-time program provides a guided learning path to students and is divided in eight semesters. The four-year degree program is a perfect launchpad for students to break into roles such as Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Data Miner, Business Analyst, Risk Analyst. Delivered from the MUIT Noida campus, the degree program covers key concepts like programming, data analysis (including VBA), Linux OS and Programming, statistics and visualisation with Tableau. The program follows a hands-on learning format with industry faculty, case studies and assignments.
Duration: 4 years
Delivery: Full-Time Classroom Program
Location: MUIT Noida, UP, India
Tools Covered: R, SAS, SPSS, Tableau, MySQL / Oracle
Eligibility: 10+2 or equivalent, with 55% marks (Maths + Science/ Statistics, English Medium)
For more information, click here
2) MSc In Analytics and Big Data: At par with some of the best Masters programmes across the world, Masters in Analytics and Big Data is geared towards providing a hands-on training program so that students are job ready. The two-year Master’s degree program is well-aligned with the current industry demands and is practical-oriented with students getting access to real-world data sets across the courses. Some of the key topics covered in the four-semester course are Business Statistics and Statistical Modeling using R, Excel, Data Reporting using Advanced Excel, VBA, and Macros, Data Warehousing (RDBMS, SQL, ETL), Tableau among other topics.
In the final semester, students have the option of choosing and specializing in any two of industry domains such as Financial Risk Analytics, Marketing Analytics, Retail Analytics, HR Analytics and Optimization Techniques among other topics. Besides choosing the elective of their choice, students also get a chance to intern with leading analytics firms in India.
Delivered in a guided learning format, the Master’s program is geared towards STEM students and professionals who would like to further their analytical knowledge and achieve their career goals effectively.
Duration: 2 years
Location: MUIT Noida, UP, India
Tools Covered: R, SAS, SPSS, Tableau, Data Warehousing (RDBMS, SQL, ETL)
Eligibility
- Undergraduate degree in Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science or Economics (with Statistics)
- 55% aggregate (or 70% in Mathematics, Economics, Statistics)
- Qualifying Merit in MUIT Entrance Test
Click here to apply
For more info, click here
3) PG Diploma in Analytics and Big Data: Given the strong demand for data science professionals, this one year diploma program is geared towards working professionals who want to fast-track their career in the data science field and gain knowledge of relevant big data tools and technologies required to gather, process, analyse and visualise huge volumes of data. During the one-year guided learning program, learners will acquire deep understanding of latest analytics techniques and gain hands-on experience on how to build end-to-end solutions to business problems. This is a two-semester program and is delivered as a full-time and part-time program.
Duration: 1 year
Location: MUIT Noida, UP, India
Tools Covered: R, SAS, SPSS, Tableau, Data Warehousing (RDBMS, SQL, ETL)
Eligibility
- Undergraduate degree in Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science or Economics (with Statistics)
- 55% aggregate (or 70% in Mathematics, Economics, Statistics)
- Qualifying Merit in MUIT Entrance Test
Click here to apply.
For more info, click here.
AIM View: What Are The Key Differentiators Of MUIT School Of Data Science
1) MUIT offers guided learning programs: The University offers residential, guided learning program with offerings for a range of audience — from undergraduate students to working professionals and a full-time Master’s degree for STEM students and professionals. The 400-acre campus offers state-of-the-art facilities to learners such as a big data lab and WiFi-enabled campus.
2) IVY Pro School Knowledge Partner: With IVY Pro School as a knowledge partner, MUIT School of Data Science has put together an industry-backed program which is aligned with industry expectations. Also, the programs are helmed by some of the best academicians in the country. The programs are crafted to help meet the needs of the industry and fast-track the career of the students.
3) Comprehensive Curriculum: The School of Data Science offers a comprehensive curriculum in big data, data warehousing and analytics and covers relevant techniques and tools. The curriculum is designed well-aligned with industry demands and expectations.
4) UGC-recognized University: MUIT is a UGC recognized university, which lends it a lot of credibility.
5) Research Oriented: Research and hands-on training with project implementation is a distinctive focus at MUIT Noida which makes the learning experience more valuable to students.
6) Industry Interface: MUIT Noida has data science practitioners as professors from the data science industry, ensuring the course outcome is aligned with industry needs.
7) Industry Internship: MUIT Noida’s School of Data Science offers two industry internships during the master’s program – a 3-month internship during the second semester and 6-month industry internship opportunity during the last semester. This will help students apply their learning in real-world scenarios
8) Placements: The University has a strong industry connect and a robust past placement record. The University also boasts of a strong alumni network which helps in placement process as well. The alumni are working in companies like Genpact and vPhrase Analytics.
