All Times ET
Keywords: training; education; consulting; communication
The Libraries and the Data Science Academy at NC State are actively coordinating services to provide seamless consulting and collaboration to researchers involved in any kind of data science work on campus. At NC State, data science is for everyone. The Libraries demonstrated campus-wide demand for data science expertise through their innovative consultation and instruction. As the extent of the need became more clear, a more formal academic unit, the Data Science Academy (DSA), was created to expand the University’s approach to data science in research and the classroom. Graduate students are employed in two types of position: an hourly service desk position and a salaried research or extension assistant position. Students receive training on best practices for consulting and collaborative work, and their responsibilities include holding walk-in hours and helping researchers work through data science issues. Students also learn to assist with and teach workshops, and gain experience organizing, moderating, and supporting short talks. We will present data demonstrating the demand and usage of this expertise. We will also discuss the training that the students receive and the successful practices that we have put in place to help this model reach the full campus community.