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Hi All.
Really keen to develop an online data science bootcamp aimed at getting;
i.) more people to understand how data science and analytics can help them be more effective at their current jobs. ie. Digital Marketers being able to get their own data, use SQL etc
ii.) a bootcamp that is both highly practical but more theoretical than a lot of existing bootcamps. As a former bootcamp student myself, my bootcamp certainly lacked on the theory side of things with the assumption that you either knew certain things or you will figure it out on the job
iii.) does more for students in terms of placements. Granted some bootcamps around Africa already do this to an extent.
I would like to start off by building a rigorous introduction to data science course (3-4 months) focused primarily on introducing Python, SQL, Stats, Data visualization, data wrangling and some data engineering to students who may not necesssarily come from a Comp Sci/stats background. I found that a lot of students in my old bootcamp either struggled with everything (the programming and the stats side of things) which made it nearly impossible for them to finish on time and led to them having to pay God knows how much to complete the bootcamp outside the allocated time. And others either struggled with the stats or programming. As someone who struggled more with the stats I found that it was still feasible to complete the bootcamp on time.
I see the introduction to DS course as being; i.) a good way to understand what data science actually is beyond the hype and having a realistic understanding of whether this might be the right career for you or not without over-committing by paying a large amount to join a bootcamp or committing a large amount of your time to a sponsored bootcamp. ii.) it gives you a better foundation to continue expanding your knowledge either on your own, through our bootcamp in the future or through other resources.
I would really be keen to engage with data science students (self taught or otherwise) and data scientists who are keen to engage further about this concept. I have already built an MVP for the platform and built a list of potential mentors who are keen to help but keen to engage with more people to make sure than we can deliver an amazing introduction to data science course. This school would be entirely online.
If you keen to engage we can chat on this forum, or you can email me on emmanuel@thegradientboost.com. Alternatively if you are just interested to give feedback and your thoughts you can fill in our Typeform: https://techmentor.typeform.com/to/SSJKSc
It is a very good idea Emmanuel! Myself i struggled with the stats side of things, and as i attempted the project works i really needed some assistance with the programming too. New data science students will really benefit from a solid introduction touching on fundamentals. Because of my work schedule it has taken me quite some time to complete my data science masters program with Simplilearn. I'm now on my python and SQL modules But i can be useful in assisting with R and SAS programming, if your program touches on them.
Thank you. Please send through your email so I can add you to the mentor list and keep in touch with you
you're welcome and here is my email: nababomo@gmail.com
Great initiative, perhaps you can leverage the work we've done.
Alliance4ai wants training programs to produce students who can earn with what they've learnt, and also become leaders who understand the power of AI, and the options in front of them. We also help the training programs get found by listing them here https://alliance4ai.org/communities/, and inform them about opportunities for themselves and their students via our newsletter https://www.alliance4ai.org/newsletter.
We've built a packet that we continue to finetune, that helps current training programs improve their material, and helps new schools like yours and people who want to start Alliance4ai chapters with character and leadership training, along with suggestions of the best free technical courses out there to augment what you have. Watch this guide to understand it better https://youtu.be/9SifRniBio0 and sample one of our videos on your career options with knowledge of data science https://youtu.be/DyrE3jiHvBw. Ping me if interested. alex@alliance4ai.org
benjamin.aboagye@gmail.com is my email.
It is very interesting idea. For the peoples from computer science it is hard to understand the statistics and for Comp Sci it is challenge to understand programming languages. So go ahead, this is good news.
Thank you. Have saved your details
This looks really interesting. Will get in touch before the end of this week or early next week
this is great and an amazing idea to introduce DS to everyone. One thing which is also necessary to do is to associate every course with small projects or some direct applications related to Africa way of life in general. We can vizualize for example the coffee production of kenya for the last 10 years. Now that coffee growth did come with some external factors may be that has lowered certains dependent parameters, and suppose that we can correct positively those parameters, can we vizualize the new statistics that the nearlest production in near future?
Thanks for the feedback! Definitely like the idea of that, projects that relate to the African context and things that people may be able to relate to more.
Hi..I like your idea and have sent you a private email to emmanuel@thegradientboost.com. I look forward to hear from you.
this is a great idea an online school focused on getting the basics right is a good idea
It is an excellent idea actually we are many students who like to study data science in Africa but they haven’t money to pay this course .So this online course will help them. I am able to help you to promote this chance on all platforms
Thank you so much. Would you mind sending through your email so we keep in touch?
Its a good initiative
I'm so down for this!!! I have personally struggled with understanding statistics and the practical steps of going from start to finish while doing a DS task or project. And it's not easy to find mentors who are willing to help as most senior data scientists you ask to mentor you will tell you to go read on Python, R, Machine Learning and all that. Also, if this bootcamp could provide internship opportunities as well, that would be great.
Great idea!
I think it's important to keep in mind what a bootcamp is and realise it's just basic training. As such, it may be better to keep the different topics as standalone units which may be completed in a short time. The benefit of this would be that people with a strong theoretical background in say mathematics and statistics usually only need a jumpstart regarding coding, and people who already have a computer science background should be fine with coding, but may need a bootcamp regarding data science basics, or say data wrangling best practices, or even statistics, depending on the nature of their CS background.
Bootcamps are meant to get you up and running ASAP, so they are generally not very theory heavy. For digital marketers, they don't really need to know the theoretical foundations in order to use something that makes their lives easier and them more effective at their jobs. For data scientists, a strong theoretical foundation would be more relevant. Your placement idea is also great, as you can approach this from both ends: Placing clients in the appropriate bootcamp for them, so you don't have someone bogged down in theory when they only need say a sentiment analysis thumbs up or thumbs down, and placing your graduates at the appropriate employer so they don't get there being able to prove that gradient descent converges, but without coding experience.
The reasons why people struggle after and during a bootcamp may be varied. These are not easy topics, for the most part, and a bootcamp is only meant to be basic training, but it should be advanced enough so that students can at least pass the bootcamp assessment and have a rudimentary idea of how to solve real world problems. I think as standalone units, with perhaps a clear growth plan or syllabus, you would have an edge over say Data Camp where there is certainly quality content, but it's hard to navigate.
Yes I would like to be a mentor as well as give classes, especially in sql and python
Thank you so much. Do you mind sending through your email or adding it this typeform: https://techmentor.typeform.com/to/SSJKSc so we can keep in touch?
Thank you. Please send through your email so we keep in touch