Career Transformation into "Data Science"

With rapid digitalisation of business workflows and the resultant availability of organisational data, the need for extracting meaningful and insightful findings from data has led to the increasing demand for data analysts and data scientists- a trend which is expected to rise in the coming years. The webinar was hosted by a practising data analyst expert with the primary objective to highlight the diverse and broad scope of Data Analytics and Data Science- which relies heavily on business understanding and domain knowledge stemming from diverse interests, professional acquaintances, academic and career backgrounds.

Lubna Khan is a Data Analyst in digital media / publishing and a Language tutor in FE, currently based in Leicester, UK. In the former part of the webinar, she highlights the position of the Data and insights team within an organization, the greater need for the team members to have the business understanding, business workflows, outcomes and value their own work can bring to the business- which in turn reflects on the wide scope of data analytics and data science in business.

Moving on, she reflects on her own journey from having worked in various positions, in diverse industries while having lived in different countries and transitioning into the Data Analyst role that she currently holds. She also highlights the aspects of her academic learning, previous work experiences and specific instances that lead to finding her motivation that inspired her to pursue a career in Data Analytics. The aspects of her current role as a Data Analyst which extends into data science concepts such as Natural Language Processing are highlighted to expose how her previous language teaching experience fits within her career and the unique value she brings to her team through diversification.

The latter part of the webinar includes pathways to diversification while in employment- investing in Continuous Professional Development through ongoing learning, learning and practicing of fine arts and performing arts, learning a foreign language, travelling etc. This highlights the various factors that make one unique, with a unique perspective to approaching problem cases, interpreting findings, extending cultural understanding, and in developing a unique mindset that eventually distinguishes talent in the arena of the highly competitive and technical profession that data science and analytics is rooted in. The webinar concluded with a Q&A session with participant viewers.