Students in the Master of Science in Data Science program had a wonderful opportunity for a real-life glimpse into their possible future careers during a guest lecture on data science and data analytics from Toyota. On Thursday, November 3, employees from Toyota Financial Services gave a presentation to approximately 160 graduate students enrolled in the course INFO 5501 - Fundamentals of Data Analytics. The lecture was organized by data science Professors, Drs. Sharad Sharma and Junhua Ding.

The representatives from Toyota, John LaVanne, manager, data science and Katy Stringham, senior analyst spoke to students about the company and the role of data and analytics in managing risk and creating value for customers. They also spoke about their jobs in the data science and data analytics field at Toyota. The students were provided with real-world projects through examples of case studies that they discussed with open-ended questions. The students brainstormed together with input from the presenters to arrive at possible solutions for the case studies. 

“We invited Toyota representatives to talk about real-world problems and solutions to specific projects in data science and analytics at Toyota,” said Professor Sharma. "It is an opportunity for students to get hands-on experience and knowledge about real-world projects and also to see the kind of projects they will be involved in during internship and jobs in data science and data analytics.”

LaVanne and Stringham also spoke about internships and job opportunities available with the company.