Singapore’s NUS to offer data science and analytics degree this year

Photo: NUS.

The National University of Singapore (NUS), the nation’s highest-ranked university, will offer a new degree program in data science and analytics starting from August this year, it announced on its website.

With an initial intake of 50 students, the program will require students to pick up modules in mathematics, statistics, and computer science. They can learn topics such as computation and optimization, computer algorithms, database and data processing, data mining and machine learning, and high-dimensional statistics.

The four-year honors program will also be open to other NUS students as a minor or second major.

Data science is widely expected to play an increasingly important role in commerce. “You name any business sector, the role of data science is there,” said NUS deputy president Tan Eng Chye.

As expected, “Smart Nation” was mentioned in the announcement. A signature initiative by the Singapore government, Smart Nation aims to turn the country into a high-tech hub where technology infiltrates every aspect of its residents’ lives.

Crucial to the grand program’s success is a cadre of technical talent, with data scientists forming an important subset of that. Follow our coverage of Smart Nation here.