“China is in a hustle trying to secure human resources in data science. The fourth industrial revolution will be in fact a war for talent.”

Sangkyun Cha(photo), professor in Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of SNU, who made a huge contribution in founding a graduate school specialized for data science, recently met with Maeil Business news at Gaepo Digital Innovation Park and said that to be in a dominant position in the fourth industrial revolution, a pool of experts should be secured but Korea still does not have enough. He emphasized that education in data science should be given to not only science and engineering students but also to other students in various fields. He also added that through this it will be possible to develop one million digital innovators.

To make this happen, he has been actively delivering presentations related to data science in front of non-professionals.

On the 19th, there was the ‘Christmas Data Science Lecture in SNU’ open for non-professionals with the support from the city of Seoul. Top scholars in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) were invited including Seungjin Hwang, professor of Standford Business School, and professor Wolfgang Lehner from Dresden Engineering school.

Professor Cha is also responsible for the ‘SNU Fourth Industrial Revolution Academy (SNU-FIRA)’, which teaches data science regardless of profession. He started a program two years ago through which young people can learn about AI and Big Data for 6 months. He said, “Most participants are students in business or humanities. Many of the graduates of the program said that the program highly motivated them when they were craving for something new.” He asserted that there should be an education program for people who want to learn data and AI.

His efforts came to fruition when the graduate school specializing in data science was founded. In 2020, a graduate school for data science will be newly established. With the size of around 60 students, it will provide an optimized curriculum on Big Data based AI, autonomous vehicles, health care and IoT, meeting the need of the industries in the fourth industrial revolution. Anyone with a bachelor’s degree can apply regardless of their major.

Professor Cha said, “Data science is the fourth paradigm in science. It will be merged with all fields of studies. The graduate school for data science is expected to accelerate innovation in different parts of the industry with the infusion of Big Data.”

Professor Cha is the co-developer of SAP HANA, a database platform. SAP Hana is a Big Data technology used by many global companies including Intel, HP and P&G. “There should be education for innovation, venture companies focusing on technology research, and financial support for research and development,” he said, and advised that there should be more funds for innovation in the fourth industrial revolution.

Source: https://ee.snu.ac.kr/community/news?bm=v&bbsidx=48271
Translated by Kyungjin Lee, English Editor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, jin11542@snu.ac.kr