(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

The Masters in Computing (Data Analytics) course content has been developed jointly by IBM and DCU to equip students with deep analytical skills to support the changing face of business today. The new programme will provide a variety of exclusive resources including access to real-world IBM case studies from cities and organisations around the world. It will be delivered by experts from DCU and IBM and will facilitate collaborative research projects between the two organisations.

"This new MSc programme will give students deep quantitative skills and technical expertise to apply analytics to real business problems. Cities today generate large volumes of data, and both IT managers and city leaders must understand the implications of the use of that data and how to create social and business value by extracting actionable insights from that data. These data and analytics challenges also exist in other industries, and students with these skills will have many career opportunities," says Dr Katharine Frase, Vice President and CTO, IBM Global Public Sector.

Technologies such as the Internet, social media and cloud computing are generating vast amounts of data. The ability to analyse Big Data has implications for industries as healthcare, retail, finance and transportation.

The data analytics sector, which is growing at 40% per annum worldwide, focuses on converting large amounts of raw data into valuable information through the use of statistical analysis and advanced software. The sector has been targeted for jobs growth as part of the 'Disruptive Reforms' in the Irish Government's Action Plan for Jobs 2013.

"With this growth rate, there will soon be a shortage of talented analysts who can help cities and organisations work with Big Data and analysis," says Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU. "This new Masters programme seeks to address this skills gap and will complement existing national Big Data initiatives by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Enterprise Ireland (EI) such as the Centre for Applied Data Analytics Research and the Insight-sponsored structured PhD in Data Analytics."

Big Data is a term for technology and services that harness the explosion of data coming from a growing number of resources - including data collected from smartphones and social networks, instrumentation and atmospheric readings to surveillance cameras and sensors.

Business Analytics is the science of translating vast amounts of complex data into clear, manageable information in order to make sound decisions. The technique of business analytics borrows from a variety of fields, including: operations research, statistics, information systems, machine learning and computer science.

Professor MacCraith, DCU went on to say, "Having previously worked together on developing a Masters major in Cloud Computing, this new DCU-IBM collaboration in Big Data will help to build the next generation of city leaders and business entrepreneurs by fostering innovation, local application of the latest technological advances and knowledge of industrial best practices in cities and organisations."

The programme is designed for those with existing computing experience and graduates in mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics and other technical or quantitative backgrounds (e.g. economics, operations research or industrial engineering). Admitted students can enroll on a full-time (one-year) or part-time (two years) basis and will take classes on DCU campus.

For further information and application details on the Masters in Computing, visit:  www.pac.ie.

About IBM
For more information, please visit:  www.ibm.com

Contact:
Jim O'Keeffe
IBM Media Relations, Ireland
+353 (1) 815 4124
Mobile: +353 (86) 854 2054
E-mail: okeeffej@ie.ibm.com

Alexander Aizenberg
IBM Media Relations
+1 (212) 671 9616
E-mail: aizenberg@us.ibm.com

Grainne Mooney
Dublin City University
Communications & Marketing Office
+353 (1) 700 8518
Mobile: +353 (87) 227 0002
E-mail:  grainne.mooney@dcu.ie