EXPLORE Data Science Academy’s first UK online courses now open for applications

EXPLORE Data Science Academy (@data_explore) has opened applications for its six and 12-month online data science and data engineering courses in response to the growing digital skills gap in the UK. Young graduates, or those looking to make a career switch, can now kick-start their careers in one of the most in-demand professions in the UK.

The courses, which start on July 12, 2021, are:

• EDSA’s flagship Data Science course, where students uncover the magic of how data can be used to solve difficult problems in any context.
• Data Engineering: where students learn how to store, move, process and manage the powerful data platforms that run large enterprises.

Shaun Dippnall, CEO of EDSA, says,

“There is a growing disconnect between the demand for data scientists and supply entering the market. The UK government’s National Data Strategy states that demand for specialist data skills has more than tripled since 2013, while analysis of 9.4 million online job adverts predicts that data analysis skills will be the fastest growing cluster over the next five years. This is a clear indication that we need to be doing more to encourage skills development for graduates.”

Online advantage

Online learning offers students specific advantages. “Previously, candidates had to take a full-time course or attend a university to obtain qualifications in data science. Now we have online courses designed and presented by world-class specialists in the field. One clear advantage of an online course is the ability to study in non-working hours which means a student can work and study at the same time. Typical courses need about 10 hours of work per week” explains Dippnall.

EDSA has also found that successful data science students come from a variety of backgrounds beyond mathematics and statistics. Graduates from the arts, sciences and humanities are now successfully switching careers after taking a data science course.

Employment possibilities

Employment possibilities post-study for successful graduates are excellent. This has been proven already in the UK with more than 70 data scientists, many of whom completed the course, working with Thames Water to help them build out their Smart Water and Smart Waste platform.

Dippnall adds: “The Thames Water success story validates our decision to move out of the South African context and take our place on the world stage. The success of our full-time courses has been phenomenal, and we have a 95% placement rate after graduation with excellent starting salaries. Our courses are designed to be practical and deal with real world problems in business. Modern businesses are awash with data and organisations from a variety of fields are unlocking the power of big data and using this to drive strategy and competitiveness.”

Dippnall concludes: “My suggestion to anyone out there interested in a brilliant new career is this: apply now. After all, what have you got to lose?”