Half Stack Data Science

In this engaging discussion, Kat Greenbrook, a data storyteller from Aotearoa, New Zealand, shares her journey from analytics to storytelling, driven by the desire to make data impactful. She highlights why communication skills are crucial yet often overlooked in analytics. Kat advocates for moving beyond pretty visuals to clear messages, emphasizing a structured storytelling process that includes understanding data limitations. She also touches on the evolving role of AI in storytelling and the importance of teaming technical experts with communicators for greater effect.

James Cotton, co-founder of iO-Sphere, discusses the gap between data training and industry needs. iO-Sphere provides practical, funded training to bridge this divide. They focus on hands-on learning and personalized assessments for effective skill development in data analytics.

Laszlo Sragner, Director of Hypergolic, brings expertise from fintech and gaming to discuss the evolving landscape of machine learning product management. He shares insights on when machine learning is appropriate and common pitfalls like data quality and lack of engineering maturity. Laszlo underscores the importance of teaching data scientists solid programming practices and advocates for cross-functional teams to drive business alignment. He also evaluates the role of AI tools in the field, revealing that fundamental challenges in ML management remain.

Valerie Logan, Founder and CEO of The Data Lodge, is a data literacy pioneer with over 28 years of experience. She discusses how data literacy acts like a language and emphasizes its critical role in both professional and personal contexts. Valerie introduces her Information as a Second Language (ISL) framework and explains the importance of structured training in various industries. The conversation also highlights the unexpected benefits of community-building through data literacy programs and the impact of generative AI on developing analytical skills.

Join Matt Harrison, a corporate trainer and author specializing in Python and data science, as he dives into the intricacies of effective Python teaching. He shares insights on the backlash he faces online, the implications of Excel's new Python integration, and how ChatGPT is reshaping programming tasks. Matt emphasizes addressing practical knowledge gaps and the importance of mastering core Python concepts. The discussion also touches on course structures, generative AI's role in learning, and the evolving landscape of data science education.

In this episode of Half Stack Data Science we continue our season 3, all about data science education, with a conversation with Reuven Lerner. Reuven is a full-time Python trainer with a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from MIT, and a PhD in learning sciences from Northwestern University. In 2020, Reuven published "Python Workout" a collection of Python exercises with extensive explanations, published by Manning. He's currently working on "Pandas workout" a similar collection of exercises using the "pandas" library for data analytics. Reuven's free, weekly "Better developers" newsletter, about Python and software engineering, is read by more than 30,000 developers around the globe. Reuven's most recent venture is Bamboo Weekly: Every Wednesday, he presents a problem based on current events, using a public data set. And every Thursday, he shared detailed solutions to those problems using Pandas. We spoke to Reuven about his love of teaching Python to beginners, what he thinks of notebooks and ChatGPT as educational tools, and how he got banned for life from advertising on Facebook.

In this episode, David & Shaun talk to Lisa Carpenter. Lisa is the lead data science instructor at Digital Futures, with responsibility for the design and delivery of the Data Science programme. Prior to transitioning to teaching, Lisa gained over 10 years of experience in the data industry. Lisa is passionate about empowering people through digital skills and thoroughly enjoys seeing students grow their data careers. Among many topics, we discussed how chefs are retraining to be data scientists, why Lisa doesn't like the "let me Google that for you" website, and the present and future of data education.

The Half Stack Data Science podcast is back (again)! Season 3 is coming very soon. In the meantime, listen to our teaser episode where we briefly recap our first 2 seasons and introduce the concept behind season 3; a series of interviews with educators who are bringing data science to the people!

In this episode we bring you our talk from the recent Data Science Festival in London. Our talk was titled "Bridging the data science supply-demand gap" and it was all about topics that will be familiar to listeners. We tackled the question "how is it that there is an abundance of junior data scientists and open data science positions yet the job market is unsatisfactory for both sides"? A huge thank you to Data Science Festival for having us, and for allowing us to share the audio with our audience!

In this special episode we did a podcast host swap with the hosts of the AI Today podcast. Cognilytica's AI Today podcast focuses on relevant information about what's going on today in the world of artificial intelligence. Hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer discuss pressing topics around artificial intelligence with easy to digest content, interview guests and experts on the subject, and cut through the hype and noise to identify what is really happening with adoption and implementation of AI. We spoke to Ron and Kathleen about what they do, their backgrounds, the realities of AI in industry today, and what they learned from years of speaking to various leaders in the field. Please enjoy our conversation with Ron and Kathleen! Be sure to check out their podcast here: https://www.cognilytica.com/aitoday/