K-Minds: DataPoint Armenia’s In-house Data Science Factory
Are we really scientists?
We might not be considered as such, but we apply the same curiosity and analytic vigor to find evidence for meaning and connections. As Data Scientists, we build a highway for chaotic information, its orderly interpretation, and its relevant application in the world.
Getting this superpower is not easy.
One needs to establish a strong mathematical foundation in school, pursue a technical degree, acquire practical experience, compete with peers, network, receive coaching and lead. As the field of Data Science continues to develop in Armenia, these are the resources and actions that are necessary to forming a mature and effective industry.
Developing this industry is the core motivation that inspired DataPoint Armenia to establish its K-Minds career development program.
K-minds is a 10-week long miniature world full of data science, professional development, and social interactions.
The program is developed by DataPoint’s talented team and wide-reaching network, taking inspiration from our success at top universities and experience in this competitive field.
And so, the summer of 2022 begins with the journey of 5 aspiring data scientists — Tigran, Monica, Aram, Ani, and Alisa. This was a unique cohort emerging from a thorough application process which considered past accomplishments, current abilities, and simmering ambitions.
Every morning at 8AM, while the rest of the world was snoozing or eating breakfast, our K-Minds were engaged in live sessions within the 3 pillars of the program:
- active learning,
- data consulting project,
- career development.
On Mondays and Thursdays, participants collected the modern analytics toolkit and learned how complex problems could be explored with clear methods. These active learning sessions followed the reverse-classroom approach which combined clear-cut computerized modules with live problem-solving sessions. We emphasized topics often missed by educational programs but highly utilized in the workplace. Cloud computing, shell commands, and github were all on the menu.
Wednesdays were the crowd favorite…no coding! But lots of networking, resume building, interview preparation, and one-on-one mentorship sessions with data science leaders and industry experts.
Tuesdays and Fridays were project days. We consider practical experience in the field the best method to imbed knowledge. Participants directly worked with our program partner Coinstats to provide data consulting for customer segmentation in the cryptocurrency metaworld. This project had unstructured data, clear objectives, and flexible methods — a good recipe for exercising both technical knowledge and teamwork.
So how did three months of K-Minds impact our five curious participants?
As data scientists, we couldn’t resist but gather some data. Participants were asked to rate their confidence from 0–10 in the main topics covered during the active learning modules. This was done both at the start and at the end of the program.
Here are a few things that stood out to us:
- Positive improvement is seen across all categories.
- Knowledge in probability had the highest starting score which reflects our approach of selecting a cohort with a strong mathematics background.
- Cloud based computing had the largest improvement and the lowest starting base. Certain useful tools are often underemphasized during traditional educational programs, and our aim was to fill in this gap.
- By the end of the program our participants could use python to complete data cleaning and exploratory data analysis with their eyes closed.
What’s next for the 5-Minds?
Ani started her Freshman year at University of Pennsylvania where she will continue developing her passion for Data and AI.
Tigran continues his Data Science journey as a Teaching Associate at AUA and has started an ML Engineering Internship.
Alisa continues her work as a data analyst at Credit Bureau and now shares her knowledge at AUA as a TA for a Data Visualization course.
Aram is currently studying Bioinformatics at St. Norbert College as part of his study abroad program at American University of Armenia.
Shortly after K-Minds launched, Monica got accepted to PMI Science as a Data Science Intern. She’s also preparing her Bachelor’s thesis to bring Data Science and Machine Learning to the field of Economics.
What’s next for the program?
Our goal remains, providing a high quality pathway into the data science world for aspiring professionals, bright academics, and eager explorers.
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A BIG THANK YOU to:
Tigran, Monica, Aram, Ani, and Alisa for choosing K-Minds as their data science home
The Krikorian — Brunskill Fund for granting the resources to execute the program
Raffi Krikorian for guiding the program’s objectives and success story
Vahag Karayan for advising on DataPoint’s development and providing his interview preparation insights to the participants
Habet Madoyan for providing his expertise on the Armenian data science education system
Coinstats for giving participants an opportunity to realize the full data science pipeline
Arman Zakaryan for introducing what data science looks like at top tech companies
Weiwei Pan for sharing her knowledge of data science in academia
Gary Vartanian for helping participants build their professional and distinguishable CV’s
Nanneh Chehras for conducting the exit mock-interviews with participants
Narbe Mardirossian for being a mentor to Aram’s ambitions in bioinformatics and Tigran’s curiosity in Machine Learning
Maga Khachatryan for being a mentor to Ani and Alisa, serving as an example of leadership, and sharing her perspective on pursuing higher education
The K-Minds executive team including Taline, Michael, Manana, Lilit, Arpine, Armen for having the constant desire to contribute to Armenia’s data science ecosystem
To everyone individually for supporting DataPoint Armenia between day 1 and days 1,129+
