An article in CIO Magazine profiles initiatives at UNC, Northwestern, and UW:
“An immediate and strong demand for a new kind of data analyst led the University of Washington in Seattle to introduce a data science certificate program this October. These analysts use their strong math and technology backgrounds to build data analysis tools and then use that data to make business decisions, says Ed Lazowska, the director of the University of Washington eScience Institute …
“The nine-month, three-course program ‘filled up faster than any new certificate program in recent memory’ writes Lazowska [channeling Bill Howe]. An August information session for the program, which is offered through the university’s Professional and Continuing Education department, reached its 175-person capacity the week it was announced.
“The first course teaches students about the different tools used in data management, storage and manipulation, including instruction in and hands-on experience with Hadoop and MapReduce. The second course deals with understanding core statistical and machine learning techniques, including deploying and maintaining a Hadoop cluster. The final course will combine the lessons from the earlier modules and teach the technology that data workers use to find value in the data sets. Each course will address interpreting and communicating statistical results …
“In the spring, the course will go online when it is added to the curriculum of Web-learning company Coursera.”
Read more here.