Applied Data Science Lab launches summer cohort 

Cybera’s Applied Data Science Lab for Economic Development has commenced its 2023 summer internship program.

The group of 16 budding data scientists and four Alberta-based organizations, labeled the “Neutron” cohort, will spend the next four months working on an internal data-related project. Operating in teams of four, the interns will develop a proof-of-concept tool that can be used by their industry partner to improve operations or support the development of a new product.

During the Neutron cohort launch event (which occurred at Platform Calgary and the University of Alberta simultaneously),  staff at Cybera (Alberta’s not-for-profit research and education network facilitator, and creator of the Applied Data Science Lab) highlighted the many accomplishments this internship program achieved over the past four years.

“Since launching our data science advocacy and training efforts, Cybera has helped many Alberta organizations and start-ups improve their efficiencies, become market-ready, and expand their economic opportunities,” says Dr. Byron Chu, Data Science Program Manager at Cybera. “We are excited for this summer’s Neutron cohort to support four more organizations as they explore how to better leverage their data.”

The Applied Data Science Lab interns have been paired with organizations from a variety of sectors. Companies for the summer 2023 cohort include:

  • Vertical City – an Edmonton-based advertising company that specializes in digital signage in spaces like elevators and lobbies.
  • Metro Technical Services – a Calgary-based organization that tests materials like concrete, soils, and asphalt to predict lifespan and identify maintenance needs.

Members of the 2022/23 Electron cohort with the Applied Data Science Lab partner ISAIC

Past cohorts showing fruitful results

The Applied Data Science Lab has been running since 2019, and its previous cohorts resulted in many interns being offered full-time jobs with the companies they were paired with during the program. 

This was the case for Vadim Avkhimenia, an intern with the “Electron” cohort that ran until March 2023, who ended up being hired by his industry partner, Convenient Business Solutions (CBS). This company develops and commercializes business tools related to property, workflow, human resources, and smart city management, and its leaders used the Applied Data Science Lab to explore leveraging AI and machine learning to improve its client-facing services. 

“The experience working on the project was very good,” says Avkhimenia, a University of Alberta grad who had turned to data science after being laid off from an energy sector position. “It was great to bounce ideas off of others and to have people who could relate to my experience.” 

Gurmol Singh also participated with Vadim on the CBS project, however remotely in Calgary. He documented his data science journey and his work in the internship on his blog. This blog lays out his professional journey which led from receiving a Bachelors in Biological Sciences, to taking data science related professional certificate allowing him to build up his practical skills in data science.

“In the internship, you can combine your domain knowledge with your practical experience. If you are already coming into that domain with background knowledge, there are a lot of opportunities to bridge your knowledge to skills,” said Singh, who is continuing to embed himself in the data science community in Calgary, participating in hackathons, and working with organizations like Innovate Calgary.

In contrast, Feifei Wang participated in the Electron cohort to help further develop her skills in data science as she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in chemistry at the University of Alberta.

“I’ve been improving my programming skills and learning new tools that I’ve had no experience with,” says Wang. “I didn’t have a lot of practical data science skills before beginning this program. I’ve now learned how to work on an industrial problem using data science.”

Her industry partner was Calgary-based Ziing, a logistics provider operating across Canada that helps last-mile delivery companies optimize their services and reduce costs. Tomasz Wojcik, the data science lead at Ziing,  anticipates the insights provided by interns like Feifei will lead to some evolutions in their internal processes.

“Through this partnership with Cybera, we foresee these results having a tremendous impact on our day-to-day operations,” said Wojcik. “The models that the data scientists have built will give us a competitive edge in an industry that is typically slow in adopting these techniques and technologies.”

The Applied Data Science Lab is currently accepting applications for both industry partners and interns to participate in its “Proton” cohort, which will run from October 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. Visit the Data Science Lab website to learn more about eligibility and how to apply.

This program is supported by funding through PrairiesCan and Alberta Innovates.