Developing employable graduates in the age of Big Data

Rapidly advancing technologies are transforming the world as we know it.

By 2020, the entire digital universe is expected to reach 44 zettabytes – that’s 44 times of a sextillion (10²¹). For businesses and governments, the potential this presents is immense, enabling innovation and new opportunities globally. With data scientists at their helm, companies can uncover insights that would have been unthinkable just a decade ago. Governments can bring their systems and policies to the future, for example, by tracking policies and their implementation to the most granular point, unlocking previously unthinkable potential for communities all over the world.

And this is just scratching the surface. In 2019, only slightly more than half (57 percent) of the world has access to the internet. What that translates to is an untapped population of billions more people who would benefit from a more interconnected world and marketplace. Add to this the increase in time spent on the internet per user and emerging technologies like 5G, and it’s clear that at this point, the sky’s the limit when listing the possibilities brought by the age of Big Data.

But with these digital transformations come insidious threats to our world as we know it. No person or organisation – from governments to private corporations, and even higher education institutions and non-profit organisations – are immune to cyberattacks, one of the most significant risks facing the world today. Whether by arcane or highly sophisticated means, these digital risks and assaults expose the vulnerabilities of individuals, companies and countries without any sufficient defence system.

Cyberattacks are the potent information age challenges that enable illicit trading in goods, data and even human trafficking and terrorism. Yet, our information and communications technologies remain vulnerable, our response times slow, with policy and legal frameworks inconsistent and embryonic.

No wonder then that the demand for both data science and cyber security experts is experiencing a boom in recent years. Both fields are listed within the top 20 occupations in demand by recruitment firm Michael Page. For several years now, data scientist has been ranked one of the top jobs in the US in terms of pay, job demand and satisfaction. The median base pay for data scientists in the US is US$95,459, compared to US$52,748 for all workers.

In Australia alone, at least 11,000 additional workers will be needed to meet its “critical shortage of skilled cyber security graduates”. More than three quarters (76 percent) of Chief Information Officers worldwide said they plan on increasing investment in analytics capabilities over the next two years, according to a global survey by Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms. By 2022, they plan to increase hiring of professionals in this field by 2.4 percent, compared to the 1.5 percent increase in the overall Australian workforce.

There’s never been a better time to advance your career in data science and cyber security. Develop your skills and impress recruiters with a Master’s from these leading Australian universities:

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

UniSA is Australia’s university of enterprise and is a globally focused, locally engaged institution established on the dual principles of equity and excellence. On top of the world-class research produced here, Master of Data Science students also benefit from UniSA’s lead role in the AU$88 million Data to Decisions Cooperative Research Centre, a leading provider of big data capability for a safer and more secure nation.

This postgraduate degree will arm students with the capabilities to analyse and visualise rich data sources, spot data trends, and generate data management strategies. Coursework is taught by leading researchers and designed with industry, including the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia and the leader in business analytics software – SAS.

Its Master of Cybersecurity will cover technical topics such as web and network security, digital forensics, identity management and access control. To complement this, students will also apply technical skills to organisational contexts with a focus on risk management and incident response. For their final year Cyber Security Exercise, students will be tasked with implementing a defence strategy for a complex enterprise environment.

Source: University of South Australia

UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA

With teaching supported by world-leading research, outstanding courses and an extraordinary location – the University of Tasmania has a lot to offer international students seeking to advance their knowledge in data science.

The Master of Information Technology and Systems (MITS) fits candidates from both ICT and non-ICT backgrounds as it provides students with broad knowledge and understanding of fundamental information and communication technology concepts and principles. To gain deeper knowledge, students can choose to specialise in an emerging field of ICT such as Big Data Management and Analytics, Information Systems & Management, Mobile, Web and Cloud Computing, Networks & Embedded Systems and Graphics and Games Development.

It’s a postgraduate degree that meets the current and future needs of the ICT industry, as shown through its full and professional-level accreditation from the Australian Computer Society (ACS), which recently collaborated with UTAS to redevelop this degree.

With this Master’s, graduates will be able to compete for various careers around the world. For example: systems analyst; web developer; database modeller/administrator; programmer; business process modeller; ICT strategist; project manager; information management specialist; security architect/specialist; business analyst; enterprise architect.

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

Located in Perth, Curtin University is where aspiring data science students can study in an affordable, multicultural and inspiring study environment. All these come with no compromise on quality – Curtin University is one of the world’s best young universities, ranked in the top one percent of universities worldwide in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2019 and 13^th nationally in the 2019-20 QS World University Rankings.

Source: Curtin University

Taught by the School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences (EECMS), the Master of Predictive Analytics integrates technical and business skills in a multidisciplinary degree. Students will gain advanced skills in data management, mining and visualisation, decision methods and predictive analytics with a focus on their applications to different disciplines, such as engineering, management, business and finance.

Students can select from three streams to learn about specific application domains. In addition, they will take on projects from various industries and organisations, or on analytical problems through industry sponsored projects, Innovation Central Perth, the Curtin Institution for Computation, or others. With all these features, this Master’s is the perfect springboard for those seeking job roles such as data analyst, or operation and business consultant in resource engineering/asset management/finance.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International

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