The person with a master's degree in Data Science is able to take part in or hold technical and/or managerial roles in contexts that require a good knowledge of the disciplines of Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics and Social Sciences and a thorough knowledge of data processing for problem solving purposes.  The Data Scientist is a professional figure responsible for the collection, analysis, elaboration, interpretation, dissemination and visualization of quantitative or quantifiable data of the organization for analytical, predictive or strategic purposes. In her/his work she/he identifies, collects, compiles, prepares, validates, analyses and interprets data concerning different activities of the organization in order to extract information (of synthesis or derived from analysis), also through the development of predictive models to generate advanced organized knowledge systems. The data scientist is therefore an analyst of large amounts of highly complex technical data (Big Data and Open Data) which, however, is able to combine methods and techniques of business management and public, private and third sector administration with technologies and methodologies of computer science and social sciences, possessing skills in each of the areas.

Competences associated with the function

Thanks to the in-depth knowledge of the organization is able to:

• identify and access data sources;
• support and develop business processes;
• to choose suitable and effective methods and models to support strategic business decisions;
• develop lines of evolution and operational plans;
• abstract the information obtained and, through it, generate indications to support the action development programs;
• finally, the Data Scientist presents this information in the most suitable form to support management's tactical and strategic decisions, paying particular attention to the issues related to the synthesis and effective representation and visualization of information.

Employment opportunities

In the world there is a growing interest in Big Data, Open Data and the Data Scientist profession due mainly to the growing demand of this professional figure in the Analytics market by the more traditional sectors of the economy, including: banking; manufacturing; telecommunications and media; Public Administration and health; other business services; large-scale distribution; utilities; and, insurance.

In this context, the professional figure of the Data Scientist, coherently with the flexibility in the educational path offered by the LM 91 class, will be characterized to a greater extent, according to the individual student's options, by the capacity of substantive reading of socio-economic-psychological data or by the ability to develop analytical tools useful for their elaboration and presentation.

In concrete terms, the skills acquired by people graduating from this Master's Degree will give them professional and career opportunities in:

• public or private market research and analysis institutes;
• organizations oriented, at national or international level, to the formulation and implementation of social and economic policies;
• organisations, public or private, oriented towards innovation and the promotion of services and products for consumers, the design of new services in the public sector, or the definition of new communication strategies;
• private companies, including small and medium sized companies, which consider it strategic to make effective use of the information available in planning market strategies, process and product innovation and company management.