Abstract

It is well-evidenced that countries around the globe are experiencing an acute shortage of real-world big data, data science and analytics skilled resources. This is regularly highlighted at industry C-level engagements in the financial, communications, retail and government sectors, to the point of being an inhibitor to growth in these sectors. Academic institutions produce a significant number of graduates, with many experiencing challenges to enter the job-market, due to lack of real-world exposure and/or studies that are NOT aligned to skills shortage in the workplace. This disconnect, between the skills being developed by DGI’s and the skills required by industry, is especially prevalent in developing countries, though not restricted to such, resulting in substantial unrealised potential, with further evidence of miss-aligned preparation resulting in barriers to promotion in the workplace.
This session will focus on how universities and industries from different countries collaborate to form a support base for each other, through their common link of defining Industry-integrated skills Development Post Graduate programs aimed at increasing the flow of “job ready” data analysts into the workplace, that are well-placed to continue to grow and develop in the fast-changing world of data.

At the centre of deliberations for this session will be the rich sharing of experiences by industry and universities in first world countries, to overcome challenges and blockages faced by developing countries, when attempting to prepare postgraduate students for the workplace demands of the data era