Plenary lecture

Title: How NC State Contributes to Data Economy

Mladen Vouk, North Carolina State University, USA

Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Abstract

Data Economy is a simple term for a very complex and very important part of today's world economy. One of many components in that echo system is data literacy and the availability of workforce trained in advanced data science and analytics. NC State has a long history in the domain of advanced analytics and data science. For example, SAS Inst. was started at NC State in mid 1970-ies; the first North American Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) was started by NC State in 2007; NC State Statistics and Computer Science departments have been at the forefront of advanced research in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science for a long time, etc. In 2014 NC State put in place a formal initiative in data science intended to institutionalize teaching and training in that space, and this year initiative has transformed into Data Science Academy (DSA) - a very interdisciplinary envelope for data science outreach, teaching, and research. This talk will provide an overview of DSA and of the Advanced Analytics and Data Science pathways being built by NC State. Of course, in practice, there are many jobs that require data science and advanced analytics skills at some level but may be advertised and filled with different job titles. In general, many require skills that again are probably MS or PhD level, and/or require more than entry-level experience. But, many in domain-specific areas may require only moderate data science skills. That broadens employment opportunities. In general, basic data literacy is essential for all in today’s economy; moderate data literacy is probably needed for many if not most of the desk jobs we have today. When it comes to high-end data science jobs, it is a buyer’s market – there is a shortage of workforce with data science skills needed. The talk will discuss some of the related parameters such as capability and capacity of workforce training pathways.

Short biography

Mladen Alan Vouk received Ph.D. from the King's College , University of London , U.K. Dr. Vouk is Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at NC State University and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science. Dr. Vouk has extensive experience in both commercial software production and academic computing. He is the author/co-author of over 300 publications. His interests include software and security engineering, bioinformatics, scientific computing and analytics, information technology-assisted education, and high-performance computing and clouds. Dr. Vouk is a member of the IFIP Working Group 2.5 on Numerical Software, and a recipient of the IFIP Silver Core award. He is an IEEE Fellow, and a recipient of the IEEE Distinguished Service and Gold Core Awards. He is a member of several IEEE societies, and of ASEE, ASQ, ACM , and Sigma Xi.