Data Science Centre opened in Tirupati

A new Data Science Centre was opened by the Tirupati chapter of Indian Society for Probability and Statistics (ISPS) at Nalada Nagar in Thummalagunta, here on Wednesday.

Collector S. Venkateswar inaugurated the building in the presence of Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV) Vice-Chancellor V. Uma, IIT-Tirupati Director K.N. Satyanarayana, Indian Statistical Institute’s (ISI Calcutta) former Director B.L.S. Prakasa Rao and others.

The centre is equipped with a modern laboratory, digital classrooms and library resources, and is envisaged to become a hub for research, training and innovation in statistics, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Commemorating the 105th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate and Padma Vibhushan awardee C.R. Rao, a national workshop on ‘Statistical learning and data science: Foundations and applications’ was conducted at SPMVV campus, where eminent academicians and subject experts shared their insights on cutting-edge applications of statistics.

Mr. Satyanarayana stressed the importance of AI, transparency in ‘Black Box’ systems and interdisciplinary research at the intersection of statistics, genetics and anthropology.

Meanwhile, Mr. Prakasa Rao, who is a recipient of the prestigious ‘Shantiswarup Bhatnagar award’, delivered the keynote address, where he emphasised the importance of statistical inference in solving real-world challenges.

Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) former Vice-Chancellor P.G. Sankaran, who is also the president of ISPS, highlighted the initiatives of the Data Science Centre and its role in nurturing future statisticians and data scientists.

Recalling the visionary contributions of late C.R. Rao, ISPS Honorary President P. Rajasekhara Reddy predicted that more youth would join the field of statistics in the coming days. IIT Kharagpur Dean Somesh Kumar and SPMVV Sciences Dean T. Sudha also spoke.