01 May 2014

Pivigo Academy founder Dr Kim Nilsson says students will be “spearheading” Europe’s data revolution.

KPMG will sponsor the UK’s first Data Science Summer School to meet huge demand for data scientists in the finance, retail, technology and media sectors. The school’s organiser, Pivigo Academy, hopes to recruit 100 of Europe’s brightest PhD students and turn them into data scientists during a five-week course.

The project, dubbed ‘S2DS’ (Science to Data Science), ultimately aims to build a pipeline of talent in the data and analytics (D&A) field in order to plug the huge talent gap which currently exists. It is the brain-child of Swedish astrophysicist Dr Kim Nilsson who has had first-hand experiences of the difficulties many highly qualified academics encounter once they set out to find a job in the commercial sector. Nilsson is founder and head of the Pivigo Academy and a co-founder of Pivigo Recruitment.

“We believe data science is an incredibly exciting career for anyone going into it,” she says. “Those launching their careers now will help shape the industry, and our students will be spearheading the data revolution in Europe for decades to come.”

KPMG says data science presents a real opportunity for business to drive insight and value from the abundance of information being created in the digital world. The firm aims to be at the forefront of the D&A sector. Last year, it set up KPMG Capital, a global investment fund that will mainly back D&A businesses. In January, as part of its Digital Innovation Network, it also announced a partnership with the Chelsea Apps Factory which specialises in the design and production of mobile enterprise apps.

Courses at the summer school begin in August. Candidates with a PhD in analytical science (or similar degree), and a proven data analysis background and statistical knowledge can apply at www.s2ds.org. Successful applicants will pay a small registration fee and are eligible for free, single room accommodation.