Twenty high schoolers in Philadelphia will have the opportunity this fall to learn about artificial intelligence as part of a free program financed by billionaire Mark Cuban's foundation. Applications are now being accepted for the AI Bootcamp, which targets girls, students of color and young people from low- and middle-income families. The program is being hosted locally by CSL Behring, a King of Prussia-based biopharmaceutical company. "We don't want them to think AI is something that other people do," said John Thompson, CSL Behring's global head of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. "We want them to realize that they can be part of the AI future, that they can have a career in advanced analytics and AI." Participants, who must be in 9th through 12th grades, will gather for five hours on four consecutive Saturdays from Oct. 22 to Nov. 12 for interactive lessons and lab exercises.

Building deep and ongoing data science capabilities isn't an easy process: it takes the right people, processes and technology. Finding the right people for the right roles -- as employers and job seekers alike can attest to -- is an ongoing challenge. In this special feature, ZDNet examines how advances in AI, visualization and cloud technology are shaping modern data analytics, and how businesses are addressing data governance and a potential data science skills gap. "The people part is probably the least well-understood aspect of this entire equation," John Thompson, global head of advanced analytics & AI at CSL Behring, said during a virtual panel discussion on Thursday. As the head of analytics at one of the leading international biotechnology companies, Thompson oversees data science teams that tackle a wide range of initiatives.