Students in the Department of Information Science have created a new Data Science Student Organization. The UNT Data Science Organization was formed in fall 2020, but will officially launch this spring semester. The UNT Data Science Organization is open to all students within the Department of Information Science and UNT who have an interest in the data science field.

According to its leadership, the mission of the organization is to "promote interest in the emerging field of Data Science, and to represent students’ needs and wants regarding events, computational resources, facilities and other support. The organization provides a competitive scientific and technical environment that encourages students and researchers to leverage the data science skills, knowledge, and qualifications required by both the industry and academics." 

“We started the UNT Data Science Organization because we - graduate and undergraduate scholars - needed to create a great Data Science community,” said Sahar Behpour, president of the Association and an Information Science Ph.D. student. “We hope that the Organization can play a significant role in different areas, such as healthcare, business, academia, economics, environment, and many more, by proposing different solutions for data and information related issues in the world,” added Sahar.

The Association also aims to assist students in finding suitable data science-related careers by hosting events that will help to promote and build relationships and connect students with potential employers. The organization has plans to kick off spring 2021 and to host various events throughout the spring and fall semesters, such as workshops about relevant topics in the field, a data science career-focused event, a conference or symposium, and applied data science competitions. 

Dr. Daniella Smith, associate professor and associate director of the IS Ph.D. program, and Dr. Ting Xiao, research assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering will serve as Faculty Advisors for the organization. 

The officers for the 2020-2021 term are as follows:
Sahar Behpour – President (IS Ph.D. student)
Haihua Chen – Vice President (IS Ph.D. student)
Raheyma Khan - Secretary (Data Science MS student)
Abdullah Gadi - Treasurer (IS Ph.D. student)
Mani Sundar Pathuri - Social Media Coordinator (Data Science MS student)
Shannell Nasbitt – Undergraduate Representation (Data Science Undergraduate student)

Students may join the organization by visiting the Organization’s page through UNT Student Activities OrgSync and send a request to join. Interested participants may also join the organization’s email list in order to receive updates and information about the group. Students may also connect with the organization through the following social media channels:

Instagram- untdatascienceorganization
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/unt-data-science-organization/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/data_unt
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UNT-Data-Science-Organization

For additional questions or information about the UNT Data Science Organization, please email untdatascience.org@gmail.com. 

Published January 13, 2021