Roger Yu, professor of mathematics and statistics and the director of the Centre for Optimization and Data Science (Image Credit: TRU)

By James Peters

Thompson Rivers University

TRU believes graduates of new program could help fight future pandemics

Apr 3, 2020 | 2:40 PM

KAMLOOPS — The campus may be quiet right now, but Thompson Rivers University is moving ahead.

The school has announced a new masters-level program kicking off in September — one that could help graduates fight future pandemics.

According to a news release from TRU, the two-year Master of Science in Data Science program will see students digging “deep into interdisciplinary solutions, using mathematical, computational, statistical and algorithmic techniques to solve complex data problems.”

Data scientists have been front and centre in the fight against COVID-19. TRU says career prospects are looking up for graduates, as there is a growing move toward using data to inform decision-making.

“The demand for this (specialization) is going up 30 per cent a year in the past few years,” said Roger Yu, professor of mathematics and statistics and the director of the Centre for Optimization and Data Science.

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“Data is an ingredient or resource for this information age. Everything relies on data.”

More information on the program can be found here.