"The actual AI revolution has just begun, and it will be transformational for everyone – people and industries alike. Now, it's an amazing time to learn Data Science and build a career in one of the most exciting fields of today."

The amount of data generated is growing every minute. Over the past few years, there's been a huge blast in both the data produced as well as held by organizations. There is a critical need for methods to get significant insights from data. Data Scientists are the individuals who effectively carry out this job and discover exactly what should be possible with it.

Jan Belke, Founder of Data-Driven Science, an online training company that focuses on Data Science and AI education, spoke in an exclusive interview with Analytics Insight on how the company assists people in building a successful career in Data Science and what pedagogy and training it offers.

Kindly brief us about the online program and the mission with which it was set up?

Data-Driven Science (DDS) is an Artificial Intelligence training company with the goal of helping people to build a career in Data Science.

DDS provides educational content in different formats and on various channels – from social media to online platforms. This wide range allows us to connect with students in multiple ways improving the overall learning experience.

Our content emphasizes on thought process & understanding Data Science. We identified a gap in the training market since most courses just focus on syntax & coding. We aim to close the gap to better prepare students for jobs.

Please brief us about the course curriculum and pedagogy of the program?

The first online course from Data-Driven Science that is published on Udemy, is a comprehensive Machine Learning training designed for university students and working professionals. The course is.

We developed an end-to-end framework called the "7 Stages of Machine Learning" that is teaching students the typical process of a data science project. Our goal is providing a "recipe" for solving real-world problems.

The stages are: (1) Problem Definition, (2) Data Collection, (3) Data Preparation, (4) Data Visualization, (5) Machine Learning Modeling, (6) Feature Engineering, and (7) Model Deployment.

Additionally, we cover topics such as critical thinking, an important skill every data scientist must have.. It's a comprehensive training program that helps everyone to get started in the field of AI.

Kindly brief us about your role and your journey and contribution to the program and in this highly promising sector.

Having a background in the education industry, I have worked for almost six years at Udemy – a marketplace for online courses – helping the company to expand its international business.  At Udemy, I've learned the power of online learning and teaching, and its transformational character for education.

Also, living and working in Silicon Valley helped me understand the power of data as most technology companies use data at the core of their business models. This is why I founded Data-Driven Science with a highly talented team of data scientists and educators. We want to help everyone interested in AI & Data Science to get started.

What is the edge the program has over other such programs in the industry?

Liked mentioned before, trainings from Data-Driven Science focus on thought process & understanding, and not just coding & syntax. There are a lot of courses available online and many of them only teach programming and algorithms.

We strongly believe that while the hands-on part is important, trainings are incomplete without a higher-level and big picture understanding of data dcience. Only that will help students develop the necessary intuition, which is absolutely critical when working as a data scientist at a company.

Mention some of the awards, achievements, recognitions, feedback that you feel are notable and valuable for the program.

Data-Driven Science is a fairly young company, and we're just getting started with our trainings in Artificial Intelligence. However, we want to point out the partnership with Machine Learning India (MLI) – one of the largest AI online communities in India and across the globe. This partnership allows us to offer exclusive training opportunities to thousands of technology enthusiasts who are interested in learning more about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

What have been the most significant challenges that the program has faced at the forefront of artificial intelligence?

The biggest challenge so far has been finding the right balance between thought process & understanding of Data Science, and the coding & syntax part.

Students join our trainings with different experience levels and expectations, so we had to calibrate our course content to provide an outstanding learning experience. We are actually still researching and experimenting with new ideas to improve the training quality and student satisfaction.

Another challenge is the pace of change in AI that requires us to constantly update content and incorporate new trends & developments in our trainings. On the other hand, that's also one of the most exciting parts of AI – it's moving rapidly and never gets stale.

What are the key trends driving the growth in Big Data/Analytics/AI Industry?

Essentially, it boils down to six key factors that are creating an incredibly powerful environment that enables AI researchers & practitioners to advance the field.

The following factors are powering the AI Revolution: (1) Big Data, (2) Processing Power, (3) Connected Globe, (4) Open-Source Software, (5) Improved Algorithms, and (6) Accelerating Returns.

What is your projection of the growth of AI and big data analytics education in the future?

The AI education market is already a billion-dollar industry and will continue to grow double-digit annually. Different studies by KPMG and other research firms predict CAGR for online education around 50%.

I'm confident that this is actually a conservative estimate and growth will actually be even higher. There's still a huge gap in supply & demand, and more people will start showing interest in learning Data Science & AI to start or switch careers.