Data preprocessing and visualisation

About the course

The objective of Data Science is to enable society, companies and citizens to understand and use the ever-increasing amount of collected data in ways that make it possible to detect potential problems or improvements to the current state of affairs. Data Science should also empower humans to estimate and understand the potential result of different actions. There's a saying about "lies, damned lies, and statistics", which expresses the fact that data-based statistics can be presented in very convincing ways even when the conclusions are false. This course attempts to teach how to detect such false information and ensure more ethical use of Data Science.
 
One example of practical use of Data Science is analyzing and presenting epidemic-related data and statistics in correct and human-understandable ways so that decisions and actions can be taken based on rational information. Data Science methods are also used for estimating effects of actions for reducing global warming, dimensioning road networks, choosing where to install new shopping centers or restaurants, optimizing the energy usage of buildings, …. To put it shortly, Data Science is one of the most crucial domains for deciding how our current and future society is to be built. More and more companies are also coming to realize the importance of Data Science. Regardless of industry or size, organizations that wish to remain competitive in the age of big data need to efficiently develop and implement Data Science capabilities or risk being left behind.