All you need to know about Post Graduate Programme in Data Science (PGPDS) at Praxis Business School

Praxis Business School (campuses at Kolkata and Bangalore) runs the country’s 2^nd ranked Post Graduate Programme in Data Science (PGPDS) –with AI and ML.

Praxis is a pioneer in the formal teaching of Analytics and Data Science and in November this year, Praxis completed 10 years of delivering its highly acclaimed Data Science Programme and creating exciting career opportunities for over 700 students.

The Praxis Value Proposition: Invest 9 months and 6 L in the Praxis Post Graduate Programme in Data Science. Walk out with an average salary of > 10L and an average hike of > 100% (if you are a working professional). And become a member of the distinguished alumni of Praxis.

What do Data Scientists do and why is it important?

Data Scientists use scientific methods, statistics, processes, algorithms and systems to extract knowledge and insights from data in various forms – structured, semi-structured and unstructured.

In our increasingly digitalised world, the availability of huge volumes of data, and our ability to access, store, analyse this data to understand our environment and business better, has made data the most valuable asset for companies and governments. The recommendations on Netflix and Amazon, the price for a ride on Uber, the alert on a suspicious-looking credit card transaction, the refusal by Flipkart to give you a cash-on-delivery option are all examples of companies making use of data to make better business decisions – and hence increase their revenues, reduce their costs and manage their risks.

In order to do the above, companies need resources trained to make sense of the huge volumes of data available for analysis. This is why having a team of competent data scientists is crucial for competing and succeeding. 

What skills do Data Scientists need?

1. Hard Skills: Data Science is about the following three pillars and data scientists need to acquire the following skills:
• Techniques – the ability to use statistics, machine learning, deep learning, visualization to analyse data, diagnose business problems and build predictive models;
• Tools and Technologies – proficiency in programming tools like Python, R, SQL, Tableau, PowerBI; deep familiarity with Big Data technologies and platforms like Hadoop, Spark, Keras, TensorFlow, AWS, Azure;
• Business Applications – ability to solve business problems in functions like Marketing, Finance, Supply-chain, HR, across different domains like banking, retail, healthcare, telecom, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, education.
2. Soft Skills: In addition, there are some soft skills that are critical for success in a rapidly changing world.
• The ability to learn effectively, to think critically, to communicate clearly
• The ability to collaborate with diverse teams, and the ability to understand and conform to the ethics of the Data Science space. 

Who can become a Data Scientist and how does one acquire these skills?

Anyone who loves to work with data is curious about why things happen the way they do, loves solving problems using data and likes to work with technology can become a Data Scientist. However, Data Science is a complex domain and candidates aspiring to step into this domain need to get themselves suitably educated.

There are several ways of acquiring these skills. There are a plethora of data science courses online – some short courses are free, others come with a fee and some come with an institutional certificate/ diploma as well. However, if one is serious about a long-term career in Data Science, it makes sense to enrol in a full-time programme and invest one’s entire energy in learning the skills. There are several benefits of a full-time in-class programme:

1. Immersive and experiential learning without the additional pressure of the job
2. A structured curriculum, delivered in-class ‘live’ by a team of faculty members
3. Academic discipline with attendance, quizzes, end-terms, grades that foster learning
4. Enormous learning opportunities from peer-group and faculty members
5. A strong alumni network which ‘owns’ the institute
6. Campus placements that offer exciting opportunities to ‘fresh’ data science candidates

The Praxis PGP in Data Science

Praxis started its full-time Business Analytics program in 2011 and re-named it Data Science in 2016. Praxis is consistently ranked among the top three Data science programmes in the country (ranked 2^nd for the last 4 years by the Analytics India Magazine).

Praxis has two intakes a year - in its campuses at Kolkata and Bangalore:

• Fall (July)
• Spring (January).

Aspirants apply online and shortlisted students are put through a selection process comprising an aptitude test, an essay, and a personal interview of about 30 minutes.

The Praxis student profile is as follows:

Engineers: 80% engineers,

Economics - Statistics - Mathematics: 15%

Others: 5%

About 85% of students have an industry experience of over one year (average experience three years); 15% of students join straight from their undergraduate college. Praxis gets students from across the country to its two campuses. The Male/ Female ratio among students is 75:25. 

It delivers more than 550 hours of a comprehensive, rigorous and always updated curriculum that covers the pillars of techniques, tools and technologies and business applications.

The pedagogy, delivered by a team of distinguished faculty, is a mix of lectures, use case discussions, hands-on labs, projects and assignments – with an emphasis on ‘learning-by-doing’.

Students do a Capstone Project in the third trimester in groups. These projects are co-assessed by industry practitioners and several groups have presented papers based on their projects in International Conferences.

Campus Placements

The Praxis Campus Placement Program has placed 25 batches with a consistent 95% + placement record. The current average salary is 10.35L and the highest salary is 22.5L.

On average, a Praxis Data Science student gets a 108% hike over his/her previous salary. Joining profiles include Data Science, Business Analytics, Data Analytics, Business Analysis. Every sector requires Data Science experts – Consulting, IT and ITES, Banking and Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Telecom etc. Some of the Praxis recruiters include PwC, Accenture, E&Y, Genpact, HSBC, Citibank, ICICI Bank, LTFS, Vedanta, Tata Steel BSL, WNS, ITC Infotech, Pepsico, Colgate etc.

About the author

Charanpreet is the Founder and Director of Praxis Business School Foundation. He has worked for close to two decades in the corporate world in organizations like British Oxygen (now Linde), Tata Steel, PwC and Hewlett Packard, where he was Country Manager, Marketing, before embarking upon a project to set up a business school of the highest quality

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha