In order to address the lack of skilled data scientists in Europe, Professional Services giant, KPMG and London based training and recruitment agency, Pivigo Recruitment have joined efforts to roll out their Data Science boot-camp, aptly titled, Science to Data Science (S2DS).

The program is led by Pivigo’s Managing Director, Ms. Kim Nilsson, herself a data scientist and an astronomer. She believes that many companies in Europe are yet to understand the significance of data science.

“They know it is coming, they want to get started but they are a little afraid to invest,” Ms. Nilsson said. A general trend in the investing companies is to look out for “data unicorns” who would code and analyze data. “These people don’t exist and if they do exist, they are extremely expensive,” she said. She advised that companies should rather direct efforts to building teams with complementing skills

85 analytical PhD students between the ages of 27 and 41, representing over 24 different countries, and from fields as varied as astronomy, physics, economics and neuroscience will be participating in this five week course. They will be mentored through 23 actual commercial problems from Pivigo’s clients such as Royal Mail, KPMG and Digital Shadows to name a few.

A report published by the Royal Statistical Society and Nesta, an independent innovation Foundation, highlights the severe lack of talent with the right data skills to quench the industry need for data scientists that seems unavoidable. Such an exercise could prove essential in building a strong industry directed talent force in the near future.