Syllabus for 2020-21 Data Science Essentials

This module has three sections: Introduction to Data Science, Communication & Networking, Data Science Case Sessions.

Questions about the syllabus? Contact the course director, Dr. Ashley Brady, or program manager, Angela Zito.

Introduction to Data Science (August 25-October 13, 2021)

During this section taught by Michael Holloway and Mahesh Rao of the Nashville Software School, trainees will complete a data science project using publicly available datasets and open-source programming and data visualization tools. All sessions will meet on Wednesdays from 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Date	Topic/Activities
prior to August 24	On your own, complete a free online short course from DataCamp. Estimated time to complete: 4 hours
8/24	Data Science Pre-test (9:00-9:30) Data Science as a Career , Charreau Bell, PhD, Senior Data Scientist, Data Science Institute, Vanderbilt University
8/31	Optional pre-Week 1 Session; Session for individuals with no previous programming or coding experience Introductory orientation to Python, Jupyter Notebooks, and git.
9/7	What is Data Science?
9/14	Annotation and Reproducibility
9/21	Exploratory Data Analysis
9/28	Conda Environments and Working with Geospatial Data
10/5	Introduction to Machine Learning
10/12	Formulating a Hypothesis about the Data
10/19	Communicating the Results
10/26	Presentation of Project Insights

Communication & Networking Section (December 1, 2021-February 24, 2022)

This section will be taught by Dr. Ashley Brady and the BRET Office of Career Development. All sessions will meet on Wednesdays from 9:00-10:30 a.m. virtually via Zoom.

Date	Topics/Activities
11/30	Introduction to the section/ StrengthsFinder 2.0 (Co-led with Kate Stuart)
12/7	Making Linkedin Work For You
1/4	Marketing for Scientists and Implementing Effective Networking
1/11	Meeting New People and the Art of the Follow-up
1/18	Crafting a Compelling Elevator Pitch
1/25	Delivery of Elevator Pitches
2/1	Story Mason^TM: The Art of Job Talk
2/8 & 2/15	No meetings: Over the course of this 2 weeks, participants will take part in a real-world exercise in networking- attend a relevant networking event or meet-up (TBD) along with Dr. Brady, or conduct an informational interview- where the tools and strategies learned in the module can be put into practice.
2/22	Post-event debriefing and strategies for follow-up

Data Science Career Case Sessions (spring 2021)

4 Case Sessions will be scheduled to occur during late February through April. Typically, sessions have been 2 hours long, and most took place at local companies who wish to host students at their organization. However, due to COVID, we are still determining how these will be conducted. We will announce case sessions dates/times as soon as possible.

Attendance policy

Please review the time commitment and attendance policy carefully to ensure this opportunity is a good fit for you and your other obligations.