Whether by the sea or in the mountains, summer is the time for recharging our batteries. Yet often it also offers the chance to think well about the courses to attend. According to Il Sole 24 Ore, Data Science, along with Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability, is one of the most represented fields, with as many as seven new degree programs offered by Italian universities for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Schools want to train data-driven professionals to meet the trends in the labor market, which in recent years has rewarded those who invest in these skills. In the last academic year, a new class of master’s degrees in Data Science was established by the 146/2021 decree of the Ministry of University and Research (MUR). We offer you a brief overview of some of the courses available, including abroad.
The mission of Irion EDM is to optimize all data management processes wherever they are and bring the right data to the right people at the right time. This aspect is crucial for producing business value from reliable, governed, and timely data. If you want more detail, here we have explained the differences between Data Scientists, Data Analysts, and Data Engineers.
Data Science in Turin
One of the academic reference points is the master’s degree in Data Science and Engineering at the Department of Control and Computer Engineering (DAUIN) at the Politecnico di Torino. It aims at training the two interdisciplinary figures that play a crucial role in the current labor market: Data Scientists and Data Engineers. The first year of studies includes data-driven processes, predictive and non-predictive models based on Machine Learning, mathematical and stochastic models, as well as ethics management in data analysis and protection. The second year gives more space for autonomous choice of characterizing subjects, following centralized teaching of innovation management and data value extraction.
Those who want to study at the Department of Mathematics of the same university can choose the English-medium master’s degree in Stochastics and Data Science. The upcoming academic year will also see the eleventh edition of the 1st Level Master’s in Data Analysis for Business Intelligence and Data Science at the University of Turin (the capital of Piedmont is also where Irion’s headquarters are located). This practical program includes data quality, data management, statistical analysis, data modeling (analytics), segmentation and scoring. It also covers data mining, machine learning, and classification algorithms. Thus, it aims at training both future data analysts and data scientists.
Degrees in Italy
Historically, Sapienza in Rome was the first Italian university to launch a degree in Data Science. Today, it offers an English-medium master’s degree, uniting the experience of four Departments: Computer Science; Computer, Control and Management Engineering; Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications; Statistics. The compulsory courses in the curriculum include algorithmic methods for data mining and laboratory, the basics of data science, statistical methods, and networking for big data.
The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UniMORE) offers a three-year degree with a statistical approach to Data Analysis for Business and Finance and a 2nd Level Master’s in Data Analysis for Economics and Management. In turn, the University of Pisa focuses instead on a way of excellence in the field of artificial intelligence. An English-medium Master’s program in Economics and Data Analysis is available from the University of Bergamo.
Specializations: better healthcare thanks to data
Sometimes the courses are very pointed, such as the InnovACtion in HealthCare (IACH) at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. This program teaches how to improve healthcare systems’ efficiency (making the most of assets and resources) thanks to evidence and data analysis and how to build data-driven solutions to respond to such challenges as clinical variation. The approach to data management frameworks is both theoretical and empirical.
Data Science at MIT (also online)
One of the most attractive and structured programs is the Applied Data Science at Massachussetts Institute of Technology, firmly at the top of the global university rankings in computer science and technology. The six macro-objectives of this fourteen-week course, which includes a pilot project (capstone) and a final Learning Hackaton, are:
- consolidate the basic knowledge of mathematics, statistics, and data analysis with Python;
- learn how to apply Data Science techniques to real-life problems;
- explore Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Neural Networks, and related applications;
- implement ML techniques to make data-driven decisions;
- discover the applications of recommendation systems to various industries and areas of business;
- build a project portfolio to demonstrate the ability to extract insights from data.
In pursuit of these goals, MIT offers a program that embraces Python foundations from the main libraries to data visualization and exploratory data analysis (EDA), as well as an introduction to unsupervised learning and data network analysis, including clustering activities.
It then moves on to the vast subject of machine learning, validation, and classification. After a week of learning break, the curriculum includes several practical applications and a plunge into deep learning with various forms of neural networks, distinguishing between convolutional and graph ones. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) are designed to work with structured data and Euclidean geometry, while graph neural networks can be applied to complex and irregular data.
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