07 January, 2020

Students of Masters and HDip. in Data Science and Analytics presented their industry-based projects in December at CIT Bishopstown Campus.

The Data Science and Analytics programmes in CIT, a collaboration between the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Computer Science, aim to develop highly skilled and competent graduates in the rapidly expanding field of Data Science. The capstone industry-based project forms a key component of both the MSc and HDip programmes.

The project provides the learner with the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained as part of their studies to real-world datasets and to unearth the meaning behind the data. The public presentation session facilitates the communication of the project findings in a technical but coherent and easy to understand manner. 

Over the past semester, students have worked with a variety of companies in Ireland and abroad with projects ranging from analysing consumer behaviour in a retail company to identifying more efficient production processes in a pharmaceutical company. Among the techniques used were statistical analysis, machine learning, time series analysis and deep learning.

MSc in Data Science and Analytics student Maanadh Naik worked with Gateway Research, an Australian company, to analyse customer behaviour through eye-tracking data in a retail environment. Shoppers wore special eye tracking glasses to record and measure their visual attention.

Analysis of the data supplied by Gateway enabled Maanadh to identify what influences the customer to enter a department, to look at a product, and to purchase the product. The influences were both internal and external. Internal factors included age, shopping mission and gender while external factors comprised of the time a product was looked at, shelf position, intent of purchase and time spent in the store. This research gives retailers an in-depth understanding of the cognitive process that takes place in the mind of the customer during the shopping. This knowledge could be used to influence consumer behaviour and in turn boost sales.

Sandra K. Sousa De Almeida, also a student on the MSc in Data Science and Analytics programme worked with Swisens AG, a Swiss company on developing advanced sensing technologies to monitor air quality. Using the dataset supplied by Swisens, Sandra developed an algorithm for pollen identification. Recent studies have estimated the cost of treatment of hay fever allergies at €55 to €151 billion per year in Europe alone. Studies have also identified that, due to climate changes, this problem will double, affecting around 77 million people in the next twenty to forty years. Therefore, reliable and timesaving methodologies to identify pollen particles are imperative in the treatment of allergies.

Sandra built a number of classification models in order to identify 10 different pollen types. One of these models achieved a state-of-the-art performance of 98.5% of accuracy in correctly identifying the pollen type. With such accuracy, these findings can inform the prevention and treatment of allergies and respiratory issues.

Kieran Collins, a HDip in Data Science and Analytics student, worked with Cork-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Sciences UC to improve production processes in their plant, which manufacture bulk active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Janssen supplied Kieran with historical data sets from various scenarios for a biopharmaceutical process. Through his analysis, Kieran was able to identify the key production variables that effected yield as the product moved throughout the process. Kieran identified the best combination of these variables in order to increase yield, which Janssen have adopted and are currently using in production.

Many of the graduates go on to full employment in the companies with which they have collaborated. Working with industry clearly benefits both the students and the companies involved who have access to enthusiastic and engaged students looking to provide fresh insights into the data that they are working with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lecturer Aengus Daly at the presentations

Department of Mathematics Lecturer Aengus Daly said, “The value of projects such as these is that students have the opportunity to fuse data from a variety of different sources and then model this data which can improve the productivity of the company they collaborate with. These types of collaborations with industry strengthen the Department’s programmes, helping both lecturers and industry to work together in their offerings to students”.

“We are always interested in working with companies who have interesting data sets and who believe data science and analytics could help their company function better. A lot of companies are surprised by what data analytics can do for their output”, he added.

If you would like to learn more about these collaborations or if you have data that you would like investigated please contact Aengus Daly aengus.daly@cit.ie

To explore how CIT can collaborate with you, email extendedcampus@cit.ie or call 021 4335302.