New programme to fix dearth of SA data scientists - TechCentral

South Africa is facing a shortage of data scientists -- a new breed of analytical data experts with the technical skills to solve complex problems. And because they straddle both the business and IT worlds, they're highly sought-after and well paid. The demand for data scientists is being driven by the emergence of big data -- that unwieldy mass of unstructured information that can no longer be ignored and forgotten. It's a potential gold mine for companies -- as long as there's someone who can dig in and unearth the business insights that no one thought to look for before. South African universities like Wits and UCT have introduced data science degrees at the master's level, but this is producing about 40 data scientists a year, far short of the number that the country's banks, insurers, retailers, health companies and telecommunications providers, among others, require.