Episode 8: DSSG Internships Help Prepare for Data Science Leadership

Episode 8: What do Data Science for Social Good Internships have to do with success in data science leadership?

Hosts:
Drs. Dan Richard and Karthikeyan Umapathy

Guests:

Abhishek Singh, Data Engineer at Kohl’s, Fort Lauderdale, FL
[Abhishek completed the FL-DSSG internship in 2019 and worked on the Feeding Northeast Florida project.]

YuanYuan Yang, Ph.D. Student at Washington University in St. Louis, MO
[YuanYuan completed the FL-DSSG internship in 2023 and worked on the Cathedral Arts Project.]

Description:
Students who receive training in real-world projects gain understanding and skills that help prepare them for success after graduation. Community-based data science projects provide complexity and meaning, which help data scientists appreciate complex patterns in data and communicate ideas to broad audiences. In this episode of hDim, we will follow up with students who have completed Data Science for Social Good internships. Abhishek Singh, Data Scientist at Kohl’s, and YuanYuan Yang, Ph.D. Student at Washington University in St. Louis, will help us understand the hidden dimensions of data science for social good internships and how they provided unique perspectives on leadership in their current positions and in the field.

Discussion Questions:
* What was your first reaction to the notion of doing Data Science for Social Good?
* As you started your internship, what expectations were confirmed, and what surprised you most about the work you were doing as part of the internship?
* Following the internship, what were the most helpful skills you developed along the way? Why did these serve useful purposes as you lead change in the field?
* How do you use your understanding of human impacts and community engagement in your work now?

hDim Podcast:
Many data scientists are beginning to discover hidden value and broader impacts of their work. The Hidden Dimensions (hDim) podcast seeks to uncover the perspectives, values, and techniques that give data science work meaning in an ever-changing and connected world.

We believe quality data science is collaborative and connects relevant data and powerful technology tools with mindful consideration of the human element and meaningful community engagement.

The hDim podcast is produced by the Florida Data Science for Social Good (FL-DSSG) program at the University of North Florida (UNF).

Recording Date: July 12, 2024

Podcast video produced by:
Andy Rush, Creative and Course Media Developer
UNF CIRT Video Studio

The title music is taken from Shake It by Aakash Gandhi available on YouTube Audio Library.