Overview

A major issue facing contemporary businesses is the question of how to appropriately gather, manage and utilize the vast amounts of data generated both within and beyond their organizational boundaries. Therein lies the role of the data scientist. A data scientist is essential for creating new value from these large datasets, or what is today called “big data”, and thus aiding organizations to gain a strategic competitive advantage. In this program, we will develop our students into data scientists - specialists who can create new value from these large datasets by asking the right questions, using sophisticated information and communications technology, and communicating their research in a clear and comprehensible manner.

Our program is focused on imparting the skill set needed for utilizing big data in business. We have created a challenging and focused curriculum that balances theory and practice to ensure our graduates are ready for the demands of the business world. On behalf of the Faculty of Business and Commerce, I extend a gracious welcome to all prospective new students and visitors. Thank you for your interest in our program.

Professor Katsutoshi Yada
DS Program Director

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Katsutoshi Yada, Professor, Faculty of Business and Commerce

After completing his doctorate in 1997, Professor Yada taught in the Department of Business Administration at Osaka Industrial University. In 2000, he joined the Faculty of Commerce at Kansai University and was appointed professor in 2007. In 2011 he became the Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Business and Commerce. Professor Yada’s present research interests include data mining for service, and information strategy concerning data mining. He also serves as the chair of Kansai University’s MEXT-funded DSI (Data Mining and Service Science for Innovation) Program. He has previously been a visiting professor at Osaka University, visiting scholar at Columbia University, and chairman or committee member at several international conferences and workshops, including ICDM (IEEE International Conference on Data Mining) and technical committee chair of IEEE SMC (Systems, Man, and, Cybernetics Society).

Every day we are surrounded by data. We use and create data through our daily routines, our shopping, and our browsing online. Data has become ubiquitous. Similarly for organizations through daily business, data is abundant and constantly accumulated. A key issue of concern among many businesspeople is the question of how to make use of this data. Data science is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with extracting value from these vast datasets or “big data”. It is an exciting and evolving field that is described as a new mode of scientific discovery.

For businesses, this is an era where the increasing active use of big data is creating more and more opportunities and is key to establishing a competitive edge in technology-driven industries and beyond. Against this backdrop, data scientists play a major role as their specialist skills enable the discovery of valuable new insight from large and messy raw datasets. Demand for such professionals is set to increase as more organizations begin to benefit from big data. Data scientists are already being employed in a variety of industries including IT, medicine and logistics.

The purpose of the DS program is to develop our students into data scientists. Naturally, these professionals must have data analysis knowledge and skills in areas such as high-level statistical analysis, as well as general knowledge of business in areas such as business operations, planning and development. In order to prepare our students for the challenges of a career in data science, we have created a curriculum which integrates a broad range of fields - including statistical mathematics, computer science, and decision science - in an interdisciplinary fashion while drawing other perspectives from the arts and sciences. We provide expert tuition from both within academia and the private sector to ensure students get a sense of the real-world data science demands. As organizations continue to increase their use of big data in future, our graduates will be equipped to meet the growing demand for data specialists and we expect to see our graduates employ their skills in a wide range of business areas.