Dynamics of Data Science Skills

A Royal Society report from 2019.


The Royal Society published a report called ‘Dynamics of Data Science Skills’ in 2019, which identified four areas for action.

For the UK to meet the needs of employers and maintain its position as a leading data research nation, the report calls for action in four areas:

· Developing foundational skills: ensuring our education system provides all young people with data science knowledge and skills, which will require curriculum change within ten years

· Advance professional skills and nurture talent: offering nimble and responsive training opportunities and develop training based on collaborations between the academic, public and private sectors

· Enable the movement and sharing of data science talent: addressing barriers to mobility between industry, academia and the public sector

· Widen access to data in a well-governed way: opening up data securely and providing access to computing power

One recommendation from the report was:

There are possibilities for incorporating real uses of data across the sciences and humanities. One area that is relatively underplayed in the current curriculum is developing investigation using GDS/GIS data which could be incorporated into humanities subjects. 

The report as a whole was recommending the sort of data skills that form part of current fieldwork at GCSE and 'A' level. The area that OFQUAL are proposing is removed for 2021 (and who know whether it will return in quite the same way afterwards).

See my previous blog post for links to the OFQUAL CONSULTATION which I would ask all geography teachers to take a look at, and complete if possible before the 16th of July.

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