“A Multifaceted Approach Towards Education in Data Analytics,” a paper compiled by Drs. Reneta Barneva, professor and chair of the Department of Applied Professional Studies, Lisa Walters, assistant professor of Operations Management in the Department of Business Administration, and several SUNY colleagues, was presented and subsequently published at the 16th International Conference on Global Research and Education, held in September in Iasi, Romania.
The paper explores a novel multi-dimensional approach to facilitate education in data analytics to prepare professionals to work in this important field. According to the Harvard Business Review (2012), ‘‘demand has raced ahead of supply. Indeed, the shortage of data scientists is becoming a serious constraint in some sectors.” The authors concluded it was very important to prepare a workforce capable of performing data analysis in their subject field.
Recognizing that some students are likely to be non-traditional, usually already employed in various fields and having different specialization, the authors propose the adoption of a multifaceted approach. It includes courses, certificates and graduate programs for the professionals who are already employed in various fields. At the same time, they suggest promoting data analytics across disciplines at undergraduate and graduate levels and strengthening the connections with industry and studying their specific needs.
Barneva and Walters worked with colleagues from SUNY Binghamton, the State University at Buffalo, SUNY Buffalo State and SUNY Oswego in the field of big data analytics and the composition of the paper.
Inter Academia is comprised of universities in Japan, Germany, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, among others. The conference attracts about 100 to 150 participants from all over the world. Accepted conference papers have been included in a book published by Springer.
Barneva has over 30 years of experience in the academia, including 17 years at Fredonia. Prior to joining Applied Professional Studies in 2015, she was with the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, serving as its chair from 2010 to 2015. Her interests span in several areas of applied and theoretical computer and information sciences, such as data analytics, imaging, multimedia, and social impact of technology. She has over 100 publications, many of them with students.
Walters has spent the majority of her career in the biomedical arena with particular emphasis on data analysis for biomedical regulatory compliance. She serves as an executive officer for ASQ 0809 and is a member of the Medical Technical Advisory Committee for A2LA, where her focus is accreditation of clinical labs to ISO15189.
