Scotland’s insatiable demand for data science talent has prompted The Data Lab to increase its MSc places in the 2018/19 academic year.

This year’s cohort will increase by 25 to 155 and equates to a 310% increase since the programme launched three years ago. The 2017/18 academic year saw around 130 Data Lab MSc places completed across 11 universities, with 76 of them achieving industry placements at a host of organisations in Scotland.

Several employers, including RBS and Clydesdale Bank, have already snapped up placement students from the 17/18 cohort. Public sector bodies, such as the NHS Information Services Division (NSS), North-Ayrshire Council and the Scottish Government have also capitalised on the talent available.

Scottish Data Science Innovation

Since its launch in 2015/16, The Data Lab MSc has supported 260 places through 21 courses. The organisation said it aims to extend its support to create 665 new data science MScs over the next five years, which will ensure a “pipeline of talent into Scottish businesses.”

In September, The Data Lab announced it would receive £13.5 million in funding from the Scottish Government, Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Enterprise for phase two of its mandate to establish Scotland as a global data hub. The MSc programme, it said, forms a key component of this objective.

Three of the 11 participating universities have announced they will launch ‘conversion’ MSc courses, which are aimed at transitioning students in a new career path in data science. These courses cover a broad range of subjects and sectors, including artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction at Heriot-Watt University, and an MSc in fintech, which is available at the Universities of Strathclyde and Stirling.

Private firms including Think Analytics, SnapDragon Monitoring, DeepMiner and Wood-Mackenzie have decided to retain their new data science graduates; while still others have offered consultancy work to their student placements.

Brian Hills, head of data at The Data Lab, said that data science represents a “multi-billion-pound economic opportunity” for Scotland and that initiatives to raise awareness or encourage people to follow this career path are essential.

He added: “We are committed to supporting the data science talent pipeline in Scotland to leverage this increasingly important skill across all sectors.”

Hills noted that the growing awareness of data science and “its possibilities” across a number of sectors is encouraging.

He said: “We are gratified to see a growing awareness of data science and its possibilities across many sectors and encourage organisations of every shape and size to get in touch to discuss how data science might enhance their profitability, sustainability and innovation both now and in the future.”

Student Project Award

The MSc programme offers students a choice of industrial placements or research-based projects. Many students opt to pursue research-based projects at their university, however, 76 placements were given to people after 100 employers highlighted their interest in participating.

The Data Lab said it has worked closely with academic partners and placement companies to support students throughout the placement and to monitor progress. Following this, a winning project was chosen.

This year’s Student Project Award winner is Debbie Maltman, who studied for an MSc in Data Science for Business at the University of Stirling. The award is judged by a panel of data science experts and Data Lab partners, including specialist recruitment company, MBN Solutions, which helps to secure industrial placements for the programme.

Debbie worked on a project for Volunteer Scotland where she used statistical analysis and machine learning to help the charity understand online search behaviour – so that it can positively influence users towards volunteering opportunities.

Speaking on the award, Maltman said: “It was exciting to put my MSc theory to the test with a real-world project and was hugely rewarding to be able to use my skills on such a worthwhile initiative. I learned a lot from being in a professional environment and the entire project was thoroughly helpful for my career development.”

Paul Forrest, chair of MBN Solutions, commented: “As always, it was very difficult to choose a winner – demonstrating the outstanding quality of data courses across Scotland’s universities. Debbie’s project is a perfect example of the practical impact data science can have on smaller organisations, as well as the value her skills brought to the wider team. Congratulations, Debbie.”