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Data Plays the Lead Role, But Not Alone

, by Davide Ripamonti, translated by Alex Foti
Alessia Melegaro, the new director of the MSc in Data Science and Business Analytics, explains why there is a great need for professionals who have strong training in statistical and computational subjects but also understand the context and conditions in which they operate


There is a huge amount of data out there. Not only on the web, but also available within companies. What is still missing, or present in insufficient numbers, are professional figures capable of extracting information from data that can be made available to the organizations where they operate, in order to orient their decision-making processes. The Bocconi Master of Science in Data Science and Business Analytics responds to this need. Since 1 October, the MSc has a new director, Alessia Melegaro, Associate Professor at the University's Department of Social and Political Sciences.

"There is a strong need for people with various profiles but who have as common denominator a passion for the analysis of all kinds of data which are available today, including the enormous amount coming from the web", says Melegaro, and adds: "We must give robust answers from a methodological point of view and also with a 360-degree vision linked to the context where one operates". The MSc is divided into two paths, a track in Data Science and one in Business Analytics, which will train graduates with slightly different profiles: "Those who choose the Data Science path will develop a propensity for theoretical insights, and many will continue their studies by pursuing doctorates. Those who opt for the track in Business Analytics, which is the more applied path, will still investigate computational subjects but will acquire the new tools with the idea of making them more functional for a business environment", continues the faculty member.

What is certain is that both paths will train professionals with very strong skills in the use of statistical and econometric techniques that allow the study of phenomena relevant for companies and society as a whole. "I hope passionate and curious students will emerge from this Master: people ready to develop new analytical techniques, but also aware of the economic context in which they operate and ready to answer concrete questions in dialogue with other disciplines. Bocconi, with its extensive expertise in various disciplinary areas, is a fertile breeding ground in this sense".

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