The new MSc in Data Science degree programme was conceived around three years ago. The Faculty was approached by some of the largest gaming companies and we were asked to consider a dedicated MSc in Data Science.

The initiation of this programme came about the fact that in Malta and Gozo it was difficult to find persons who were suitably qualified and skilled in data science. Data Science, as an area, is exploding and will grow even more in the near future. Data Science is the study of the theory, tools, and techniques used to find hidden patterns in data that can be used to improve decision making.

In July, we are organising a two week summer school in Data Science and we have had enquiries and applications from geosciences, biology, chemistry, bioinformatics, sociology, criminology, ICT, and other disciplines. Data Science is now used in various areas. 

During his speech, the Faculty Dean, Prof Carl Debono said that “ The Masters in Data Science brings together the areas of computer science, computational mathematics, statistics, and machine learning. The skills gained will allow the data scientists to use their core competencies to solve problems in various domains including but not limited to finance, retail, gaming, healthcare, transport and logistics and many others. Data science helps the decision making process in all these domains by providing insights from the data analysed. All this shows the importance of Data Science and the need to train students with these skills.”

The University Rector, Prof Vella added that “I don’t think you can be more practical than organising data, in order to turn it into useful information. And this degree will celebrate that ability. This degree will celebrate that skill which transcends domain boundaries and can be used in different applications.”

When COVID-19 struck, this caused a lot of disruption, but we moved ahead with the new programme. A working group from the departments of AI, CCE, and CIS was formed to create the new degree programme. The industry partners had insisted, from the very beginning, that the new programme should have a very strong taught component. The new degree has a taught component of 60 ECTS – 12 study units. We introduced several Level 5 study units and these included existing or new study units from Mathematics and SOR in the Faculty of Science.

The new MSc in Data Science is part-time in the evening, 90 ECTS. The first two academic years are the taught component, having six study units in each year. The final year (last two semesters) is dedicated to the 30 ECTS dissertation. Lectures will be after 5pm three times a week at the Msida campus.

If you are interested in this course, kindly visit our website for more details.