Industry and U of M collaborate to bridge data science skills gap

On Thursday, February 27, 2020 industry and government partners came together in downtown Winnipeg to discuss data science challenges facing today’s businesses, both locally and beyond.

Data science has emerged as a significant influencer in nearly every sector of our global economy. The current challenge facing businesses is recruiting sufficiently skilled data scientists to be able to address their needs.

The Faculty of Science’s newly launched NEXUS, an interdisciplinary collaboration and hub of data science expertise, will work in partnership with industry in order to help solve data challenges. The initiative will provide access to a pool of skilled talent as well as cutting-edge research capability in data science and domain expertise. 

“The purpose of this consultation event is to seek input and insight on business challenges and barriers to achieving data-powered solutions, and to understand how NEXUS at the University of Manitoba can provide those solutions,” says Saman Muthukumarana, Director, NEXUS.

In order to stay competitive, Muthukumarana says it’s crucial to be active drivers of this change. Working together with his team at the U of M, he says the potential is here to make NEXUS a world-class organization in its field.

“Data Science Nexus need to be relevant and responsive to the requirements of industry and government’s current and future talent needs. We have a unique opportunity here to make a real difference. I am thrilled to be part of this,” says, Rodger Quinn, Chair of the NEXUS External Advisory Committee.

NEXUS has already hosted a variety of successful events and training, including several workshops as well as an international data science conference: NEXUS: Art of the Possible, held in Fall 2019 at the UM’s Fort Garry campus.