Abstract: 

Data science is fast becoming a richer and more varied working field, ranging from research and development al the way through to commercial applications in a wide range of settings and industries. Data science is far from being a single, well-defined discipline, and insteadit is a combination of different specialisations and practices. For newcomers to the field navigating this vast ecosystem may be a daunting task and as the dust settles, getting some perspective may help understand the challenges and opportunities in the field.

In this talk we will cover some of the ingredients that make data science an exciting area of work within a business context. There is no doubt that the variety of positions that require data science skills is ever growing and evolving. This means that the availability of roles has expanded, making the field more diverse. This in turn has implications in both the talent that companies are looking for as well as in the activities that data scientists can get involved with.

We will take this opportunity to look at ways of working and best practices that successful teams employ and adapt to their needs. This will give us a chance to explore the interdependence between data science and other subject matter experts such as those working in development, devops, business SMEs, data visualisation and more. Finally, we will make an exploration of tools and technology widely used by data science practicioners, both hobbyists and professionals. Starting up in data science will be easier with this session.

Bio: 

Jesús (aka J.) is a lead data scientist with a strong background and interest in insight, based on simulation, hypothesis generation and predictive analytics. He has substantial practical experience with statistical analysis, machine learning and optimisation tools in product development and innovation, finance, media and others.

Jesús has a background in physics and held positions both in academia and industry, including Imperial College, IBM Data Science Studio, Prudential and Dow Jones to name a few. Jesús is the author of "Essential MATLAB and Octave," a book for students in physics, engineering, and other disciplines. He also authored the upcoming data science book entitled "Data Science and Analytics with Python."