KANSAS: NSF EPSCoR’s New Course Builds Data Science Capacity in Kansas
This spring Kansas State University (KSU), University of Kansas (KU), and Wichita State University (WSU) are piloting a new data science course. But it’s not just for students — 17 community partners also benefit by gaining free data science solutions. The Kansas Data Science Consortium (KDSC) is a key educational pillar of the ARISE project, Kansas NSF EPSCoR’s Track-1 project.
The public is invited to learn more about the KDSC at its first annual conference on April 29, in Lawrence, KS. The event is free, but registration is required.
Lead investigator for the project Tim Pleskac, KU, worked with KU Assistant Research Professor Will Duncan and Project Coordinator Gryffin Eason to recruit dozens of organizations to partner with the Community Data Labs, with 17 providing class projects this year. Partners represent a broad spectrum of economic sectors, mostly from Kansas, including the manufacturing companies Trane and Ferrellgas, the non-profit Lawrence Arts Center, and the Wichita-based tech company Viaanix. There are also a couple out-of-state partners, and one from the United Kingdom.
Rather than working solely from a textbook like many conventional courses, the 86 students enrolled in the Community Data Labs work in small groups on projects provided by the partner organizations. No one knows yet what they will find as they delve deeper into the datasets.