Data scientists are in demand and for the right reasons.
With the burgeoning of data, the world needs more data science professionals to fulfill their business needs. Not to mention, the current rate at which data is generated stands at 2.5 quintillion bytes per person, on a regular basis.
A report by Raconteur says, by the end of 2025, the world would have generated around 463 exabytes of data per day.
Businesses are drowning in data and the world needs more eyes and hands to examine these data. Who could do it better other than a data scientist? But the world needs more data scientists. The demand has outstripped the supply.
The reason why organizations such as the World Data Science Initiative (WDSI) came up with one of the world’s largest talent development project.
The data science initiative
By the end of 2022, WDSI aims to create 250,000 data science talents to meet global demand. The more data science professionals the world creates, the merrier.
WDSI launched its project early in January this year and within three weeks, the project started receiving registrations from across the globe – more than 30 higher education institutions from 23 countries registered.
Most of these institutions have started working toward developing data science centers within their campuses, also called the International Centers of Data Science. These centers will further provide global programs to students in the latest technology fields like machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and data science.
WDSI is granting more than USD 300 million in subsidies for universities and students providing a gateway to stay accredited and get the students certified on the world’s renowned vendor-neutral data science standards.
Overview of the WDSI data science research grants
The World Data Science Initiative connects universities, leading technology schools, education project bodies of the United Nations, World Bank along with personnel like researchers, education regulators, Data Science educators, and professors. Together, this group is looking forward to developing a new talent pool of data science professionals
WDSI supports data science research grants that coalesce and accelerate focused research. The purposes or areas covered under the subsidy or grant include activities such as:
•Gaining access to the content, process, and the knowledge needed to build a data science school.
•Gaining access to the content, process, and the knowledge needed to build a data science center of excellence.
•Other services related to global accreditation.
A certain point that needs to be addressed. This data science initiative does not cover the salary of the staff, infrastructure, fee of the consultant, hardware, construction, computers, equipment, or any third-party software.
You will find five categories of beneficiaries who hold the eligibility criteria for the applications, they are:
1.Private institutions, universities, and colleges are recognized by the respective government.
2.Public and government universities, colleges, and institutions.
3.Sponsored by or funded by a not-for-profit organization closely involved in social upliftment via education and training.
4.Project organizations, special purpose vehicles funded by an elected national government or an elected provincial government in nations, and data science consortia.
5.Project organizations, special purpose vehicles funded by charitable organizations or multilateral bodies, and training consortia.
Conclusion
The explosion of data is significantly generated by technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), making data science the only solution to solve business needs. Currently, the world needs more than data scientists than before, and with the shortage of skilled professionals, it is only going to get challenging in the future.
In the present day, more organizations have started investing in data science. Thanks to its power of tools and techniques. WDSI offers funding opportunities to leading technology institutions and students to increase talent in the data science field.
