As part of the University of the Philippines Open University’s (UPOU) objective to contribute toward upgrading the educational system of the country by developing, testing, and utilizing innovative materials and technology, the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) organized a Data Science Workshop on 12-14 December 2018, at Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
Dr. Ria Borromeo, Point Person for the Data Science program, spearheaded the event, which was attended by Dr. Melinda Bandalaria, UPOU Chancellor; Dr. Melinda Lumanta, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; Dr. Alexander Flor, FICS Dean; and FICS faculty members, REPS, administrative staff and research assistants.
The three-day workshop enabled the participants to review the status of the data science program proposal and conduct an intensive discussion on the relevance of data science in today’s technological age. They discussed the potential of FICS to offer this program distinct from other universities in the country. The workshop also served as a venue for the development of possible courses for the program, discussion of future plans concerning data science, and the conduct of a data analytics training for research assistants.
Dr. Diego Maranan, Assistant Professor at FICS, remarked that the prospective students of data science will not only be those from the industries, hoping to apply their learning within business settings, but it can also be explored within the academe such as in bioinformatics, where data science and genetics are integrated. Dean Flor further encouraged the FICS faculty members to create a research and development program on data science, focusing on data analytics and sports gaming, among others.
UPOU-FICS is looking forward to offering the said program soon. (ECruz)