Research

Really Big Data

According to an article on Forbes.com, whether we want it or not the world of Big Data is here. What exactly is “Big Data”? For the uninitiated, it is every photo ever shared, every Facebook post ever written, every Google question ever asked. In other words, Big Data is us.

The general public may at times feel overwhelmed by the amount of data we are bombarded with, but we can just turn off our cellphones and tablets. Companies trying to glean meaningful information from that data, however, need to manage it or it is of no use to them. And they need employees who can both understand the data and extract the information that data provide, skills that until now were not recognized as necessary.

The National Science Foundation has just awarded a $537,617 grant to Jungwoo Ryoo (PI), associate professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State Altoona, and Soo-yong Byun (Co-PI), associate professor of education at Penn State University Park, for building a big data analytics workforce in iSchools. According to Ryoo, “We are aiming at helping non–computer science majors discover various career opportunities in big-data fields and pursue them.”

“We accomplish this goal,” he continues, “by developing innovative course curricula including assessment tools for educators to use at higher education institutions, in particular at iSchools. This will, in turn, make big data education more accessible.” The term “iSchools” refers to “a collection of Information Schools dedicated to advancing the information field” (see http://ischools.org/). Presently 65 schools across the world, including Penn State, are members of the iSchool organization, founded a decade ago; the inaugural iConference was held at University Park in 2005.

The estimated end date for this study is August 2018. For more information on the project’s progress, visit http://sites.psu.edu/bigdata/.

Big Data Education Project Team (Ieft to right): Eun-Kyeong Kim, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography; Jungwoo Ryoo, principal investigator and associate professor of information sciences and technology; William Aiken, senior majoring in security risk analysis; and Whitney Hernandez, junior majoring in security risk analysis. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated November 24, 2015