Two (2) international and national training invitations specializing in Data Science were recently received by the faculty members of the College of Information and Computing. The first training, which was attended by Dr. Maureen M. Villamor, Dr. Cristina E. Dumdumaya, and Dr. Ivy Kim Machica, was a week-long activity held last October 12-16, 2020, conducted by Professor Jennifer Widom, a Stanford Computer Science professor, in collaboration with the Dela Salle University. Professor Widom’s odyssey includes traveling worldwide, offering free short-courses in data science, workshops in design thinking and collaborative problem-solving, and roundtables with women in technology. The lectures and hands-on training can be applied to various applications such as geo-mapping of COVID-19 classifications in Davao City or any region, and many more.

The second training focused on Data Visualization using Google Data Studio with an application to COVID-19. The University of San Jose Recoletos organized this training last November 11-13, 2020 which was held online. Dennis P. Tagamolila, who specializes in data analytics, delivered the topic on data visualization which has an impact on COVID-19 cases nationwide. His advocacy includes providing insightful information for decision-makers to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in the Philippines.

The College of Information and Computing (CIC) specializes in Data Science for its Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program. One of its aims is to provide Data Scientists from its pool of graduates. It is a must for college faculty members to learn and relearn their trade to continually offer quality education.