Rachel Hilliam, president of the Alliance for Data Science Professionals, says it’s unusual for societies like the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), BCS and Institute of Maths and its Applications (IMA) to collaborate on professional certification .

Hiriam is Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the Open University (OU) and is first and foremost a statistician. She has been with OU since 2011, and prior to that she was the sole medical statistician at Derby Hospitals Trust, involved in numerous research projects and clinical trials.

She is also Vice President of the Royal Statistical Society and focuses on professional issues.

Hilliam recalls that in 2019 there was a lot of discussion about the rise of data science as an interdisciplinary field among the academic societies backing the new alliance, mainly RSS, BCS and IMA. The Need for Specialization of Data Scientists”.

She adds: This kind of collaboration between associations was very new. In fact, many conversations took place before we even got to the process of formally deciding what the Alliance was and even if it was something that could be done between societies. ”

The Alliance will certify its first cohort of data scientists in July 2022 to meet the discipline standards agreed between the RSS, BCS and IMA as well as the Operational Research Society, the Alan Turing Institute and the National Physical Society. I acknowledged that Institute (NPL). A total of 13 data scientists were certified, all experienced and well-rounded, with an approximate 50/50 male to female ratio.

The Alliance hopes to present an early carrier certification later this year, but Hilliam says the initiative is in the early stages of how to get to market.

The Chartered Institute for IT’s BCS flagged the Alliance as a component of six technology priorities proposed by Conservative MPs during the election of Prime Minister Liz Truss. The data science profession, it said, was “the key to economic growth.”

“The government needs to work with the Alliance to ensure the UK has a strong pipeline of trusted data scientists to drive economic growth.”

Rachel Hilliam, Data Science Professional Alliance

It drew attention to the “Alliance for Data Science Professionals co-founded by BCS,” which it said “gave a new bar for the first group of data scientists this year,” adding: A pipeline of trusted data scientists to drive economic growth. ”

Mr Hilliam said: And while each of these individual associations would support those people and organize events for those people, what none of the associations had was a professional organization for those individuals. It was not a certified route.

“RSS has a ‘certified statistician’ route, some data scientists fit that, but certainly not all. BCS has something similar, we have certified IT professionals What we wanted to do was not to create a new data science society as a series of societies, but to come together and have one professional channel that all those societies could sign.

“What the Alliance does not have is a chartered status as it involves a rather lengthy process by the Privy Council. But for the time being we have set this up as a certificate.”

The Turing Institute and NPL are partners in this venture, but have only recently been involved in setting standards, not accreditation.

It is hoped that the certification process will help companies hire bona fide data scientists.

But what does Hilliam think data science is beyond statistics? increase. “Now, as a statistician, I would also say that a great deal of it is underpinned by very deep mathematics.”

For this reason, she says, data science is inherently interdisciplinary. “There’s so much data out there, and what you’re trying to do is definitely beyond the statistics themselves. [as a business or other organisation] Here’s my data to come up with questions you might want to answer.

“Mainly in terms of historical statistics, the first thing I thought was a question, and then I went out and collected data to answer that question. You will see a change in your way of thinking.

“I think there’s something about what fields data scientists work in, too. I mean, because whether it’s C-level or from companies to ordinary people.”

Hilliam argues that data science is more than just modern flash. “A few years ago we had the big data revolution, but it has gone very quiet,” she says. “But I think this will continue, partly because it’s not a completely new field. It’s an interdisciplinary umbrella for the different fields of statistics, applied mathematics and computing.”

There are also bachelor’s and master’s degrees in data science that have developed in recent years, including open universities.

But Hilliam also said it’s important for teenagers to understand that data science is a high-paying, intellectually fulfilling career option, much like becoming a doctor or a lawyer. says.

“I think there is so much work to be done in terms of schools, school careers departments, and educating parents about data science that 17-18 year olds don’t have in their minds because, Because no one is talking about it,” she says.

Hilliam also says it might be an area that appeals to girls and young women because of the huge design and storytelling elements.

“You see, we have the same problem of gender imbalance not only in math but also in IT,” she says. Design can mean a lot of things when a girl says she’s interested in design because it takes her away from another profession.

“And that could definitely mean design in the computer industry, and data science. If I said I was interested in design as a girl, would school push me into that field?

“I don’t think there is a definitive answer, but I do think that if you put enough effort into data science, there are ways to attract girls. Because sometimes there’s a design type of element in there.Seriously, I think there’s a way to make this profession really appealing to girls.”