The Data Science Education Podcast

Access the full transcript for this episode “An emphasis that we really put on the work that the students are doing is to think about the ethical landscape in which the work is taking place…how to do that work responsibly and to do what is actually going to be meaningful to the stakeholders versus maybe what's the coolest new technique in machine learning.” In this episode, Sarah Stone, Executive...

Access the full transcript for this episode In this season’s installment of “Data Science Graduates in Industry,” we’re speaking to three UC Berkeley alumni to learn more about how they’re applying what they’ve learned at UC Berkeley in industry. Samantha Chean-Udell is a Digital Product Associate at Converse, Elda Pere is working as a Senior Data Scientist at Curate, and Carlos Ortiz is working a...

Access the full transcript for this episode "Now in data science, I find that what the students need is more of an ability to integrate different models and different techniques on their own." In this episode, Vik Gopal and David Chew from the National University of Singapore (NUS) delve into the university's growing Data Science major, as well as their roles as instructors for courses in Data Vis...

Access the full transcript for this episode “…We try to make high-level, engaging curriculum for math, and the best part about it is we figured it out using the lens of data science.” In this episode, Niki Wells, a K-12th Grade Curriculum Developer for Chicago Public Schools and Curriculum Editor for Skew the Script, shares her experiences teaching high school math and how she’s used cultural rele...

Access the full transcript for this episode “I think over time, in every discipline, there’s more and more eagerness to connect with data science, or AI, or both.” On this episode, Yolanda Gil, a Research Professor of Computer Science and Spatial Science at the University of Southern California and Principal Scientist at USC’s Information Sciences Institute, discusses how U SC makes programming an...

Access the full transcript for this episode “We take the perspective that data science is truly something unique and different, it’s not just stats plus programming…” Hello, and welcome back to the fifth season of the Data Science Education Podcast. In this episode, we’re chatting with Bradley Voytek, a professor in cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego. He shares with us ho...

Access the full transcript for this episode “You hear a lot about the metaphor ‘data is the new oil’ and I think data really is the new oil – maybe it’s even the new fabric for the way that we all interact with each other in the world…” Hey Everyone, and welcome to the final episode of Season 4. In this episode, we’re speaking with Zarek Drozda, the director of Data Science 4 Everyone, a coalition...

Access the full transcript for this episode “In this emerging world in our sciences, everyone has to understand data science and how to move forward with it.” In this episode, we’re speaking with Deb Agarwal who is Scientific Data Division Director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory managed by the University of California. Sh...

Access the full transcript for this episode “...When [we] decided to take the leap and do a data science course, one of the things that we intentionally made as a requirement was for a course to have a low bar of entry, but a high probability of success.” In today’s episode, we speak with Mahmoud Harding, who is a math instructor at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. At NCSSM, he te...

Access the full transcript for this episode “…But for math in general, I think data science education bridges this gap between the data that affects our lives and […] the more theoretical understandings of these concepts… ” Today, we’re speaking with Mario Bañuelos who is an assistant professor and Associate Chair of Mathematics at California State University, Fresno. In this episode, he shares ho...

Access the full transcript for this episode “The second half of the vision [for my course], is that machine learning concepts should be accessible.” In this episode, we speak with Zachary Pardos, an associate professor at the UC Berkeley School of Education and director of the Computational Approaches to Human Learning research lab, where they focus on education data science and how to utilize AI...

Access the full transcript for this episode For the third episode of the season, we’re bringing back three Cal Data Science alumni who are applying what they’ve learned to the healthcare industry. Each of them will be sharing their unique story and how they paved their own paths into the healthcare industry. Jordan Jomsky is currently working as a data scientist for the National Institute of Healt...

Access the full transcript for this episode “It’s been really exciting to me in my new job … to start thinking about how data science can be taught across a whole university and touch every major, every discipline, every aspect of what we’re doing in our mission, in research, in teaching, and in engagement.” On this episode, we welcome Rachel Levy, the executive director of North Carolina State Un...

Access the full transcript for this episode “...As humans, we’re prone to fool ourselves… the good news is we can learn to use scientific reasoning and methods to counteract this constant tendency.” Welcome, and welcome back to the Data Science Education Podcast! We’re thrilled to be back and equally as thrilled to have you listening with us again. We’re kicking off Season 4 by speaking with Dr. J...

Access the full transcript for this episode “Any paper that I write, there is some sort of data science… and I noticed how even a little bit of coding knowledge goes a long way.” In this episode, David Broockman, an associate professor of political science at UC Berkeley, shares his perspective on how the fields of data science and political science intersect within coursework. David shares his ex...

Access the full transcript for this episode “Engaging in Data Science at the undergraduate level [at UC Berkeley] first wasn’t any particular person’s idea…they concluded that: instead of first creating a graduate program and having things filter down to the undergraduate level years later, we would start with a first year course for undergraduates and build from there!” In this episode, John DeNe...

Access the full transcript for this episode In this special episode of the Data Science Education Podcast, we’ve featured three interviews from recent UC Berkeley Data Science graduates! All three of these graduates are currently applying their Data Science education in industry, and each has a unique perspective and story to share. Amal Bhatnagar (at the time of this interview) was working as a D...

Access the full transcript for this episode “We surveyed admissions officers around the country and we found that they’re much more familiar and comfortable with a Calculus course on a student’s transcript. Whereas with Data Science courses, they sometimes think it may not be as rigorous.” In this episode, Pamela Burdman, an independent policy analyst on college access, readiness, and the founder...

Access the full transcript for this episode “Years and Years ago […] at Cal Poly, Statistics and Computer Science were in the same college, but now [they’re in separate colleges] and it’s been that way for quite a long time, but it’s kind of funny that we used to have a lot more proximity to each other and now [...] we kind of come back around.” In this episode, Hunter Glanz, an associate professo...

Access the full transcript for this episode “So if we’re able to integrate the [computer science and data science] topics in one course, we let students experience both fields before they have to make a premature choice of which one they want to study in more depth […] But, I think it helps to put them side by side, so that students can appreciate what they both are and how they might use them.” ...

Access the full transcript for this episode “We’re lucky at UVA because we have this school of Data Science… it’s a freestanding school with its own dean. The nice thing about this is that it creates a ‘known identity’ for where Data Science sits on campus…” Welcome back to Season 3 of the Data Science Education Podcast! We’re happy you’re listening with us again, and we hope you look forward to t...

Access the full transcript for this episode “What can you do with Data? What stories can you tell with Data? … Communication is not a soft skill in the derogatory sense, it is THE skill in some sense.” In this episode, Sara Stoudt, an Assistant Professor at Bucknell University and co-author of Communicating with Data , discusses the importance of communication in Data Science as an art and a creat...

Access the full transcript for this episode “If I was in charge, Data Science would be a requirement at the collegiate level, the high school level, the junior high level, and at the grade school level … Data is so centric to everything, I think we’re missing the boat by not having it integrated into everything.” In this episode, Steven Levitt, the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor...

Access the full transcript for this episode “In designing Data Science curriculum, we should have a participatory design approach with individuals from several different communities that have been marginalized or disenfranchised by Data Science or AI techniques.” In this episode, Gloria Washington, an assistant professor at Howard University, shares her experiences structuring her Data Science-dri...

Access the full transcript for this episode “[An] important thing to realize is that different schools in different places or at different levels have different student bodies, different needs and goals. So I think it’s important that people across the globe share their content so that people at different institutions that are looking to introduce Data Science have a good sense of the different wa...