Enthusiasm and success at the University of Belgrade
Serbia may not be the place that comes first to mind when you think about data science. However, that could all be changing in the next few years. A recent report from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce predicts that the demand for data scientists in Serbia will grow by 25% over the next five years. This growth will be driven by the increasing use of big data technologies by businesses in Serbia.
The Serbian government recognized the need to develop data science skills in the country some time ago. In 2017, it launched a ‘Data Science Academy’ program to train students and professionals in data science skills. The government is also reported to be planning a new master’s program in data science at the University of Belgrade. The university itself has not been behindhand in developing its expertise and offering in the data science field. I recently worked with the university on its FON Summer School on Data Empowering Business, a week-long opportunity for final year undergraduate and master’s students.
Delivering an introduction to SAS
The University of Belgrade is one of the biggest universities in the region. The Faculty of Economic Sciences asked us to help deliver the summer school as a way to introduce SAS to their students, and possibly test the technology for adoption in future. The idea was to give the students an opportunity to develop and learn new skills in the fields of management, organization, and IT, using SAS software and real-world data to work on a project. We joined forces with one of our clients, Telekom Serbia, to create an event that would bring together academia and industry, and provide students with real-world skills.
On the first day, we spent time introducing the 35 students to the world of data. We showed them how SAS could help to transform their careers. Over the next couple of days, they were introduced to SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya, and also worked with SAS Skill Builder. They used the SAS applications to work on data provided by Telekom Serbia. On the final day of the event, the students presented their projects created on SAS Viya for Learners. All 35 students completed SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya, and we strongly encouraged them to continue to SAS Visual Analytics 2, and become SAS-certified.
A genuine opportunity
This was the first time that any of these students had worked with SAS Viya for Learners, or with SAS Visual Analytics. However, this is a very competitive university in technology terms. The university works closely with and receives funding from vendors including Microsoft, IBM and HP. The students have access to some very good technology and products. It was therefore great to be given the opportunity to showcase our solutions and courses, and show what value they could bring to the curriculum at the university.
We had two assets that really helped us. The first was Telekom Serbia’s willingness to get involved and provide data for the students. That obviously helps the company, because they get some analytical work out of it, and the students get to see that a telecoms company may be an employer to consider for data science work. The second advantage was that one of the professors is a SAS educator. He was therefore able to help the students alongside the SAS team. Despite some minor technical hitches, such as a maintenance day at the university, we managed to get the sessions running smoothly, and everyone seemed to get good value from the experience.
Moving swiftly onwards...
The real question for any successful event is, of course, what happens next. After this summer break, we are looking forward to advancing the collaboration with the University of Belgrade. We are, for example, planning to get involved in offering some optional courses in data literacy and visual analytics. We also hope to develop the data science specialism as part of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences at University of Belgrade.
The precise details of how we might work with the university are not yet clear. However, it is clear that Serbia as a country is keen to improve the data science skills of its citizens, to meet the demand from businesses there. Universities are obviously going to be a key part of that work. By linking up with local companies like Telekom Serbia, and local IT integrators, the university might be able to take greater advantage of SAS capabilities in future.
