STI Holdings brings data science to mainstream local education
YOUNG Filipinos will now have the opportunity to become part of the growing number of learners of data science, dubbed by experts as the “career of the future,” as STI Holdings recently announced its network of schools has begun to offer programs related to the much soughtafter field of study nationwide in School Year (SY) 2020-21.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the company said that STI’S Education Services Group (Esg)—the company’s biggest subsidiary— and its West Negros University (WNU) campus are now offering programs leading to a Bachelor of Science course in Retail Technology and Consumer Science, as well as a two-year Associate degree in Retail Technology.
Under the programs, students are expected to apply data science and business analytics to drive understanding of the changing market and consumer behavior, as well as to employ disruptive technologies. They will likewise be trained to utilize omnichannel retail-marketing strategies to satisfy changing consumer demands and varying purchasing habits.
Upon graduation, students of the said programs will be ready for the future of work with specialized skills in the areas of retail marketing, consumer psychology, information technology and data science. Graduates may become business-analytics professionals, big data analysts, consumer analysts, consumer scientists, data scientists, digital marketing and/or e-commerce specialists, as well as e-business data managers, among others.
Meanwhile, IACADEMY is currently offering programs leading to Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science, with majors in Data Science and Cloud Computing, respectively.
Under the Data Science program, students would be able to develop, analyze, and apply algorithmic principles in computer science. These would be done through a thorough training in computer science, statistics, data mining, and machine learning, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions.
The cloud computing program, meanwhile, exposes students to such technologies that would enable them to design, implement, manage, and maintain local and wide-area networks.
Through the program’s partnership with Amazon Web Services, students have the chance to gain globally recognized cloud-computing certification.
Upon graduation, students of the said programs may pursue jobs and careers as programmers, enterprise or network architects, data analysts, data scientists, program managers, and management information systems directors, among others.
The Commission on Higher Education has given STI’S ESG, WNU and IACADEMY their respective permits to offer these new programs.
“We are certainly proud to offer these courses at a time when technology has even become more relevant in people’s lives,” said STI Holdings President and CEO Monico V. Jacob. “Just recently, the Bangko Sentral came out with data that says e-wallet transactions have more than tripled due to the... pandemic, showing a significant increase in the use of technology. This development just affirms STI Holdings’ decision to offer these new courses, which is a testament to our commitment to advance the use of data science for our country’s progress.”
“We have already seen before that more and more data sciencerelated jobs and careers will be created in the future. It’s actually happening now, and it will continue to unfold in the [years to come],” seconded STI Holdings Chairman Eusebio H. Tanco. “This is why we wanted our youth to become more prepared and equipped to take on this trend and get ahead in the game.”
Meanwhile, STI ESG recently partnered with Smart Communications and Globe Telecom to help provide its students with continued learning powered by technology amid the pandemic.