The ability to utilize and understand data is an increasingly critical skill for the evolving 21st-century workforce. Sectors are realizing a critical shortfall in data-literate talent for the positions of today as well as tomorrow. To combat this shortfall, underrepresented groups and schools must be engaged in data science training. The DataUp program is one such effort of the South Big Data Innovation Hub.  The South Big Data Innovation Hub is excited to host the 2021 DataUp Program. DataUp offers hands-on training for instructor teams at minority-serving institutions, community colleges, or 4-year liberal arts colleges.  Priority was given to hosts who can demonstrate the participation of faculty from diverse departments, or multiple institutions of the types listed above.

Recipients Will Receive 

1. A 2-day data science training workshop held at the DataUp recipient institution. Selected institutions will be able to choose among the 15 different workshops (in English and Spanish) offered by The Carpentries to host at their home institution. Target audiences are 15-30 learners with little to no prior computational experience. Workshops must take place in Fall 2021 - Spring 2022.
2. Attend a 2-day virtual instructor training event in Summer 2022.  The instructor training is taught by peer, volunteer Carpentries instructors trained in pedagogy. The interactive workshop will introduce key research findings and teaching practices adopted by the Carpentries community to help learners engage in data science better and faster.
3. Participating institutions are also required to teach a data science course, workshop, or boot camp in year 2 (2022-2023) to expand the impact of data science at their institution and to their students.

Eligibility

Applicants must be groups of 2-4 faculty or permanent staff from a minority-led, -serving, primarily teaching institutions, community colleges or 4-year liberal arts colleges institution or group of institutions in the same local area to maintain a cohort model in each location. Lead Institutions must be in the 16 states of the South Hub and indicate interest in and ability to host a training workshop at their institutions. 

To ensure broad and adequate attendance, in the application process, institutions will submit a list of potential attendees or partners from their local communities which should include local minority-serving institutions and community colleges. Institutions with the broadest reach will be selected for participation. 

We anticipate a total of five awards per year. Priority will be given to institutional teams who can demonstrate the participation of faculty from diverse departments, or multiple institutions of the types listed above.

Learn more about past and current DataUp Participants

Testimonials

“In the [instructor] training, we discussed the dangers associated with ‘expert blind spot.’ So, I’m more consciously adjusting my expectations to account for this. I have incorporated (and improved) live coding with the students. This has been very useful. My DataUp colleagues and I continue to be impacted by the idea of using data of interest (health data for our county, arrest data in our area, etc..) in our courses. The trainings have had a huge impact and the timing can’t be better.”

Dr. Felesia Stukes, 2017-2018 DataUp Cohort 
Software and Information Systems  
Johnson C. Smith University, private, historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina  
 

More Information

• 2018 Program Announcement 
• 2020 Program Announcement
• Keeping Data Science Broad Public Webinar Series