Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) has introduced two new programmes i.e. 4-year BS and 5 five year BS-MS degree programme in “Statistics and Data Science”. The newly added programmes will be offered by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics from the academic year 2021-22.
The admissions to the programmes will be through Joint Entrance JEE (Advanced). The programme will focus on areas of Fundamental Statistical and Mathematical, Computational and Data Science application courses. Students will also have the opportunity to do elective courses from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
The programmes are aimed to prepare and arm students with skills relevant to the rapidly growing interdisciplinary field of big data analytics. The graduates of the programmes will be empowered with the skills and knowledge to build flourishing careers in the data science industry and also pursue higher studies in classical and modern statistics, and data science.
Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur said, “The last decade has seen significant changes in the field of statistics with an ever-increasing focus on the computational aspects of statistical methodologies. Data science, Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning are playing increasingly important roles in finding solutions to diverse real-world problems.”
“Research in data science in the next 20 years is expected to focus on developing mathematically rooted models that can be implemented efficiently. The synergy of theory and applications requires training specific to a unique set of skills, and the BS and BS-MS programs in Statistics and Data Science have been launched in response to this need of effective implementation in real-life situations”.
Students undergoing the BS and BS-MS programs in Statistics and Data Science will be exposed to various types of structured and unstructured data with applications in solving real-world problems. This would include data related to health, biomedicine, bioinformatics, and digital health, retail, banking, and financial data; image processing data; seismological data; social media and social network analysis; energy sector, transportation, agriculture, etc.
In collaboration with the proposed School of Medical Research and Technology (SMRT), students would also work on health related data and digital health to give a much needed boost to research and analytics in this important emerging area.
In order to keep the students acquainted with new challenges with data and the associated cutting-edge technology, the Institute will also invite industry personnel for guest lectures, real data analysis projects, seminar presentations, and industry internships for students.
