DSPS1003 Foundation of Data Science

Overview:

Data science have become increasingly popular in social science and public sectors. This introductory course aims to equip students with the essential knowledge and skills in data science, which are useful in analyzing social science and management data.

Topics to be covered:

• data science process, data science coding (Python & SQL), data visualization;
• descriptive statistics, probability theories, inferential statistics and applications in social science and public sectors.

Course Instructor: Dr. LO, Man Fung

Date & Time (Term 2): Monday, 10:30am – 1:15pm

Enquiry: dsps@cuhk.edu.hk

Since our establishment, DSPS has supported the selection of Administrative Officer (AO) interns coordinated by Office of Student Affairs (OSA) in CUHK. In this February, our Programme Director, Professor WONG and Lecturer, Dr. WANG served in the CUHK interview panel in the selection of Administrative Officer (AO) interns of this year. Consistent with our goal of grooming future policy leaders, the experience in AO prepares candidates not only to protect the interest of the public, but also to accommodate with ever changing expectations from the public. Interested students are encouraged to engage in AO internship, which is one of the major pathways to enter this prestigious and top-notch grade of the civil service.

Please refer to the link below to learn more about AO internship recruitment:

• AO internship recruitment

The 9th Hong Kong Internet Governance Forum (HKIGF) would be organized on 7 March 2022, by Internet Society Hong Kong (ISOC HK). ISOC HK aimed to promote Internet Governance through facilitating public exchange of views in provision of a conversational platform. Our Programme Director, Professor Wilson Wong would be sharing his insights about data for good specifically for the advancement of data literacy and improvement of data management policy. Details are as follows:

To learn more about ISOC HK and the event, please see the links below:

• ISOC HK
• Event details

This workshop aims to enable students to analyse and apply the knowledge about public policy making, leadership and entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, guided with the anticipation of career opportunities and future development of policy leadership and entrepreneurship, students are inspired to make impact in the society. To aid student engagement in this workshop, four Guest Sharing sessions would be arranged. Details are as follows:

Thank you very much for your attention and we look forward to meeting you in the workshop!

Our DSPS team has collaborated with Internet Society Hong Kong, in contribution to the Hong Kong Open Data Index Report 2021/2022. Our Programme Co-Director, Professor Wong served as the academic advisor; meanwhile, three of our students, Ms. Anna Ng, Ms. Miranda Ding, and Mr. Joi Fun Lam took up the role as researchers, to support the launch of the report. The report sheds light on the progress and development of open data in Hong Kong by assessing different data categories with multiple indicators. With additional foci such as data governance and data literacy, the report also strives for improving the value and impact of open data in Hong Kong with recommendations based on the research findings.

To learn more about the report, please refer to the following links:

• Full report in English
• Report summary in Chinese

The report also received outstanding and notable attention by the mass media below:

• (AM730) 研究指天氣交通開放數據有改善 互聯網協會：管理仍需努力
• (HK01) 香港開放數據評分微升-疫情資料不完整-土地-政府運作仍低分
• (HKEJ) 香港公開數據總體得分微升
• (HKET) 【開放數據】香港開放數據整體評分微升　商業登記、房屋指數未有改善
• (HKET) 【數據管治】港府數據管治政策不足　宜針對公眾、公務員加強技能教育
• (Ming Pao) 團體研究指政府數據開放有改善-促政府進一步公開透明
• (Ming Pao) 港「開放數據指數」微升-「數據管理」分項0分
• (Sky Post) 港開放數據情況有改善 交通天氣類別得分 升幅顯著
• (Sky Post) 智慧城市｜本港數據開放評分微升　互聯網協會：惟乏統籌倡改善
• (SCMP) Hong Kong minibuses, observatory help lift city’s data openness score, but government efforts ‘inadequate’, advocacy group finds
• (HKFP) Hong Kong urged to continue improving data governance

Our Programme Co-Director, Professor Wong was invited by “talent.gov.hk” to share his insights about the career prospects in data science. The interview concentrated on the overview of data science as a technical profession. Besides technical competence of data science, if a graduate could develop an interdisciplinary knowledge base as emphasized in the positioning of our DSPS Programme, he/she can have a faster career track with a more attractive salary package by serving in a managerial or consulting position in a major organization in either the private or the public sector.

“talent.gov.hk”, supported by the Human Resources Planning Commission of the Hong Kong government, works as the information portal which disseminates information of different career development pathways. To know more about the details of the interview of Professor Wong and talent.gov.hk, please refer to the links below:

• Interview details
• talent.gov.hk

Our DSPS lecturers are also actively engaged in research activities infused with data insights and solutions. Dr Kelvin Lo, one of our lecturers, has his latest article published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, a Q1 journal in “Complementary and Alternative Medicine” which gathers evidence-based research on interventions and resources working as the complement or replacement of conventional therapies. Dr. Lo’s article is titled “Predictors of the intention to use traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) using extended theory of planned behavior: a cross-sectional study among TCM users in Hong Kong”. It investigates the predictors of the intention to use TCM in Hong Kong by conducting an online cross-sectional survey with reference to Theory of Planned Behavior. Analysing the survey responses by partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM), it showed the significant mediating effect of the variables such as Attitude and Satisfaction.

If you are interested in the research article, please visit the link below:

• Research article

The research is collaborated with the Centre for Ageing and Healthcare Management Research, School of Professional Education and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Our Lecturer, Dr. LO was invited to share his knowledge on the integration of data analytics skills by using Python with research related to tourism industry in an online seminar funded by the Inter-Institutional Development Scheme and organized by School of Professional Education and Executive Development, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The research seminar discussed about how Artificial Intelligence is evolving the tourism industry. To provide the data science perspective in this research project, Dr. LO presented his session, which covered the review of research framework for smart tourism, web scraping and sentiment analysis.

Please refer to the link below to learn more about the research project:

• Abstract of the research projec

The talk by Ekimetrics was successfully held with the purpose of connecting the power of data science and social science to its application and introducing its career prospects on 20 May 2022 in the state-of-the-art Digital Scholarship Lab. The Ekimetrics team consists of Ms. Celine Wong, manager and the main speaker, and two consultants, Mr. Kevin Wong and Andrea Wong. Ekimetrics, a global data science consulting firm, helps companies from small assessments to enterprise level deployments through cutting-edge data science technology in an innovative and advanced approach.

During the talk, two real-world projects tapping the power of data science were shared with the participants (refer to the photos). The first is the creation of the thematic Big Data funds, led by the concept of Big Data and Data Science for Good Life. The second is the Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability project, an embodiment of the usage of data for good life, which applies advanced techniques including machine learning for optimization such as minimization of energy consumption.

Not only did the Ekimetrics team illustrate some of their projects in the talk, but after that, the team also enlightened the participants in the panel discussion by explaining the importance of data visualization and storytelling skills while providing solutions to their clients. In the delivery of knowledge and practice of data science in the consulting industry, the social value of data science was also emphasized. Importantly, it was highlighted that social science students like DSPS students were very competitive in applying for the data science positions in the consulting industry because of their good mix of soft and hard skills.

Please refer to the link below if you are interested in knowing more about Ekimetrics:

• Ekimetric

Ekimetrics is the European leader in data science, with +320 data scientists and 1,000 projects since 2006. It helps companies steer their data opportunity, build data capabilities, and deploy actionable solutions, to power up marketing and operational performance, as well as (re)energizing business models. With global presence in Paris, London, NY, HK, their consultants lead projects in +50 countries in all industries (automotive, financial services, retail, telecom, health, etc.).

The talk has a dual purpose of showing how data science is put into action and introducing its career prospects. It would illustrate the power of data science through real-world consulting cases and discuss the career paths in the data science industry including data science consulting. It is especially suitable for students who would like to combine their hard and soft skills in data science, such as students with a social science background.

Details are as follows:

Thank you very much for your attention and we look forward to meeting you in the talk!