Data analytics student

Data science is the fastest growing career area globally – so fast that education is struggling to keep up. To help students develop the best skills to address changing workplace demands, the Australian National University (ANU) has developed a unique interdisciplinary degree: the Bachelor of Applied Data Analytics (BADA).

BADA draws three core disciplines (computing, statistics and social science) into one degree, making it ideal to prepare anyone for a career in data analytics.

Grace Planting, a first year BADA and Actuarial Studies student, made the big move from the Gold Coast to Canberra to kick-start her future career in data analytics. She’s found the program to be an excellent intro to data-driven decision making. “The tutors and lecturers are great, and it’s a really small cohort, which means there’s lots of academic support,” Grace says.

Grace is confident that her degree will prepare her for the jobs of the future. “There’s a really wide scope of places you can go with a data analytics degree. It’s applicable to all industries, from health to environment and corporate business. You develop skills to work in both the computing and client services side too.”

Meanwhile she’s having heaps of fun at uni, playing on several sporting teams, and plans to join the Women in STEM student society next year. “I didn’t know anyone when I moved here, but I made friends really quickly,” she says. “Canberra feels like a big university town!” – Larissa Fedunik

To get there: bit.ly/ANUBADA

This article was produced in partnership with ANU.

“There’s a really wide scope of places you can go with a data analytics degree. It’s applicable to all industries, from health to environment and corporate business. You develop skills to work in both the computing and client services side too.”