upGrad Launches First Fully Online Master’s Degree Program For Working Professionals In India
New Delhi: upGrad and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) have introduced a first of its kind online Master’s degree program in Data Science. The learners enrolling in the program will get a recognised master’s degree equivalent to the on-campus degree from Liverpool John Moores University.
The 18-month program – first 12 months delivered by IIIT-B and the next 6 months by LJMU, will provide the learners with PGP in Data Science from IIIT-B and also a Master’s degree in Data Science from LJMU post program completion. The learners will get mentorship from postdoctoral fellows for the dissertation project and alumni status of LJMU, along with complete access to the university’s digital library. The program fee for Master’s in Data Science is INR 4.85 lakhs, which is ~1/10th the cost of the on-campus program.
The Data Science market in India is on a growth trajectory. The Banking and Financial services industry has seen the maximum demand for Data Science professionals, with close to 40% of jobs coming from this sector alone, followed by E-Commerce and Telecom industry. According to a study by Analytics India Magazine, the total number of analytics and data science job positions available are 97,000. Out of these, 97% job openings in India are on a full-time basis, while 3% are part-time or contractual.
The LJMU Master’s program in collaboration with upGrad is another step towards bridging the skill gap in India. The program will enable learners get an international Master’s degree and alumni status without compromising on quality education, time and opportunity cost of leaving the current job to pursue higher education.
Prof. Dhiya Al-Jumeily, professor of Artificial Intelligence at the faculty of Engineering and Technology, Senior Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, said “We are very excited to partner with upGrad and launch two first of its kind full online MSc programmes related to Artificial Intelligence. Data Science & Machine Learning are areas of great potential for India and the IT sector, and our two MSc programmes should give working professionals the opportunity to build their skill and excel in these technical fields. With upGrad’s world class online learning experience, local industry connect & LJMU’s academics, research capabilities we are confident of delivering a powerful full online Master’s experience.”
The partnership with Liverpool John Moores University will be upGrad’s second international university tie-up after Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education, with whom they have a collaborated Strategic Digital Marketing program.
Established in 1823, LJMU is rated among the top 20 engineering schools in UK. The university is one of the largest, most dynamic, and forward-thinking institutes. The Master’s programs are being delivered by the Applied Mathematics & Computer Science departments from the engineering faculty at the university. The first batch launches in March 2019.
Speaking at the launch of the program, Mr. Ronnie Screwvala and Mr. Mayank Kumar, co-founders, upGrad, said “Re-skilling in the mid-level management has become extremely important for professional growth. If their technical skills are not up-to-date, there is a high possibility of redundancy, unless they reskill themselves. The Liverpool John Moores University & upGrad programs are best positioned to kick-start a learner’s career in Data Science. The learners will receive one-on-one mentorship and can work on interesting projects of their choice or projects shared by LJMU, which are integrated into the program. These comprehensive programs provide extensive knowledge of Data Science concepts as well as different aspects of research, its ethical dimension and evaluation of literature. The program has been designed keeping in mind those learners who want to study abroad and get a degree from a foreign university but are unable to proceed because of professional commitments. Upon successful completion of research methodologies and submission of Master’s dissertation, the learner will receive a Master’s degree from Liverpool John Moores University.”