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Inaugural Lecture Mr. prof. J.E. Wieringa: Machtige methoden

07 May 2013


When: Tuesday 7 May 2013
Start: 16:15 hours
Inaugural Lecture: Mr. prof. J.E. Wieringa, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen
Title: Machtige methoden
Chair: Onderzoeksmethoden in de Bedrijfskunde
Faculty: Economics and Business


Jaap Wieringa
Jaap Wieringa

The stuffy image of data analysts is a thing of the past, stated Prof. Jaap Wieringa in his inaugural lecture. Thanks to the enormous data explosion of the past few years, also known as the Big Data Revolution, the position of data scientist has improved immeasurably. Following the Harvard Business Review, the professor of Research Methods in Business refers to database analyst as ‘the sexiest job of the 21st century’.

Not so long ago, database analysis had a very stuffy image in many organizations. At best, the analyst was regarded as a rather unworldly nerd who hunched quietly in a corner of the company behind his computer screen. The impact of their work on business practices was regarded as marginal.

That image is completely out of date, according to Wieringa. For example, McKinsey Global Institute has calculated that companies that make cleverer use of the insights resulting from the analysis of Big Data could improve their performance in some sectors by no less than sixty percent. The result is that there are now excellent career opportunities for data scientists – analysts who are not only expert in statistical and econometrics methods, but also take part in discussions at a strategic level.

McKinsey predicts that within five years, in the United States, there will be a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 staff with good analytical skills. It’s not for nothing that Harvard Business Review calls data scientist the ‘sexiest job of the 21st century’.

Last modified:01 February 2023 10.30 a.m.
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