Last year marked the first milestone in The Data Lab’s Skills and Education efforts, with the launch of The Data Lab MSc programme. With the first cohort of 40 students across 3 universities now about to complete their industrial placements and projects, we are proud to announce that The Data Lab MSc programme is back bigger and stronger for the 2016/17 academic year.
This year, we were able to secure further funding, which allows us to offer 90 places accross 9 programmes in 7 Scottish universities. This means the 2016/17 cohort will more than double last year’s group, providing Scotland with an even larger pool of talent to help reduce the skills gap in the Data Science industry. The broader range of programmes also means students can choose from different specialisms, including business applied skills.
One of the main features of The Data Lab MSc is that it is developed in collaboration with industry to ensure students are equipped with the skills that organisations actually need; which will facilitate employability upon graduation. The courses are also run in partnership with industry, in order to facilitate hands-on experience for students through cross university events and industrial placements.
Networking and community building are also an important part of the programme. As part of the cohort, students from all 7 universities come together at least 5 times a year to participate in a series of events to complement regular academic learning. Events are industry-led and focused around practical group work in mixed university teams to provide a platform to share learnings and ideas across institutions. The events also focus on developing soft skills such as critical thinking, data journalism and storytelling, presentation and public speaking and creativity. One example is a start-up/entrepreneurship ‘pitch’ day, judged by an industry panel. The programme will also include hack-days where student teams compete to derive insights and ideas from real-live data shared by industry.
The Data Lab MSc Programmes
The Data Lab MSc is a collaborative effort between 7 Scottish Universities and The Data Lab, with the aim of developing the data science talent and skills required by industry in Scotland. Through this collaboration, each university has developed MSc programmes based on their own strengths and capabilities, with the support of The Data Lab to facilitate industry involvement and collaboration, and provide funding and resources. Each university manages their own entry requirements and application process, so visit each programme website by clicking on the links below to find out more about how to apply.
Visit The Data Lab’s website for more information and how to apply http://www.thedatalab.com/TDL-MSc-2016-17
