News

Pitt receives $235,000 to fund Responsible Data Science@Pitt

Pitt received $235,000 from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to fund Responsible Data Science@Pitt (RDS@Pitt), an initiative that aims to “empower responsible, use-driven data science across the breadth of the university to solve societal challenges​,” according to its website. 

“We are so grateful to the Richard King Mellon Foundation for sharing and so generously supporting Pitt’s vision for this project,” Interim Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Joseph McCarthy said to Pittwire. “In the time ahead, I feel certain that Responsible Data Science@Pitt will have transformative short-, intermediate- and long-term benefits for individuals, industries and the region as a whole.”

The initiative will build an “innovative” and coordinated set of professional training programs in responsible data science, using insights from both data and people to “improve lives and communities at every scale,” according to Pittwire. They said one of the project’s main objectives is addressing the “critical need” for pathways that ensure workers in Southwestern Pennsylvania are job-ready for future science and technology opportunities.

“A recent Rand study found that Southwestern Pennsylvania currently does not have a sufficiently accessible, relevant, agile and impactful training infrastructure to produce the needed skilled workers,” Stephen Wisniewski, vice provost for budget analytics, said to Pittwire. “We need to close gaps between workers’ needs for relevant data science training in the region and the academic resources that are often abstract and less accessible.”

Former Pitt provost Ann Cudd formed the Data Science Task Force in fall 2019 to examine how the University could further propel its educational and research mission through data in all its forms, according to the RDS@Pitt website. Cudd charged the task force with producing a set of recommendations to coordinate and amplify data and data methods at Pitt, which inspired the creation of RDS@Pitt.

RDS@Pitt is led by Michael Colaresi, associate vice provost for data science, and Wisniewski. Andrew Hannah, a “vital” partner in the initiative’s development, will serve as the board’s chair, according to Pittwire. The initiative is also developing an external advisory board featuring representatives from major industries across Southwestern Pennsylvania. 

newsdesk

Share
Published by
newsdesk

Recent Posts

Opinion | The dying art of going to a movie theater

But as time goes on, theaters close their doors for good, and streaming services become…

20 hours ago

The Pitt VolleyBand: The seventh player

Wisconsin volleyball fans walked into their “armory bunker,” also known as UW Field House to…

20 hours ago

SGB announces student safety, grocery store initiatives

During its weekly meeting on Tuesday at Nordy’s Place, SGB discussed new initiatives to increase…

20 hours ago

Pitt Open Lab ‘I Voted’ button-making contest selects a Roc-themed winner

As the 2024 Presidential Election approached, many on-campus events took place encouraging students to participate…

20 hours ago

Column | The Mike Williams redemption arc is here

Brandon Aiyuk. Davante Adams. Cooper Kupp. DeAndre Hopkins. Christian Kirk. Adam Thielen.  Name after name…

20 hours ago

Opinion | The greatest tropes & cliches in media

Are we in the mood for a titillating arranged marriage and spicy there’s-only-one-bed scene? Or…

21 hours ago