First generation of the Diploma in Big Data for Public Policies get graduated

The use of massive data to solve social problems is the new commitment of governments worldwide that see Big Data as the best alternative to make decisions and improve community services. Although in Chile this digital tool is being used, there is still a long way to go due to the lack of professionals who have the appropriate training to use this technology.

For this reason, the GobLab UAI Public Innovation Lab of the Government School created the Big Data Diploma for Public Policies (BDPP), in order to train those who should analyze and use the massive data in the processes and public programs. For this, the program has a teaching team that is at the forefront in the development and the practice of Big Data.

The first version, made from August 2017 to May 2018, was carried out by professionals related to the public sector in roles of data analysis, studies and supervision such as study centers, guilds, foundations and media dedicated to data analysis.

The engineer in renewable natural resources, Víctor Caquilpan, works in the Superintendence of Environment and is one of the graduates of this diploma. His interest in taking the program was to achieve the purpose of “improving my skills related to Big Data processes since I have found that this is a great flaw in the workplace, although it grants development opportunities in various areas of knowledge” holds.

For the student and sociologist Javier Contreras, this postgraduate combined two of his interests, on the one hand the analysis of data and on the other, the development of initiatives of public interest: “It was a program that allowed me to address them and also obtain a certification in these lines ”, adds the data analyst of the Municipality of Peñalolén.

Among the academics and themes that stand out is the Data Mining course conducted by the professor of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences of the UAI, John Atkinson and Matías Garretón academic of the UAI Territorial Intelligence Center. For Caquilpan, the Atkinson classes “had a great mathematical and modeling component involved,” while for Contreras, Professor Garretón “presented interdisciplinary projects in a very graphic way, which allowed to greatly expand the field of project possibilities that they can be developed with data science. ”

Both professionals agree that having been part of this diploma has been a contribution in their work performance. For Caquilpan, his profession is closely related to research, so the courses of the diploma course gave him “an integral content to be able to apply them in the area of ​​environmental sciences” and Contreras maintains that through the courses “I was able to expand my field of possibilities of project development incorporating data science as a strategy to carry them out.”