UAB President Ray L. Watts speaking to MCDC students about their internship experiences and the impact their work will provide to local businesses. For University of Alabama at Birmingham student Darryl McIntosh, a senior majoring in computer science, computer programming was not just a personal passion but a career path in which he saw great potential. While fond of programming, McIntosh viewed his skillset in a one-dimensional frame of mind until his exposure to the world of data science and analysis as a fellow in the first cohort of the Magic City Data Collective.
Creating a data talent pipeline
A pilot project of UAB, the Birmingham Business Alliance and Birmingham Education Foundation and supported through a one-year grant from the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities, MCDC provides UAB students paid internship opportunities to grow their data analysis skillsets by working with local private-sector employers in education, philanthropy, technology and beyond. This public-private partnership aims to build a diverse pipeline that connects uniquely qualified students to companies with data-specific needs.
“The Magic City Data Collective reinforces UAB’s commitment to making sure our students have the ability to develop skills that help them look at large amounts of data, find patterns and trends, and ask questions to better understand the world around them,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts. “It’s critical that we provide opportunities to take classroom learning one step further, and the Magic City Data Collective is doing just that by partnering with our local business community to shape the next generation of talent that will move Birmingham and our world forward.”
Broken out in project teams, undergraduate and graduate UAB MCDC fellows with academic backgrounds in areas like computer science and physics collected and analyzed data, developed and tested hypotheses, and learned about what it means to use data in a team setting — all while better understanding and solving community problems.
“The fast pace of technological innovation and the rise of AI techniques such as machine learning makes it critical that tomorrow’s leaders in data develop skills such as critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, ethics, and communication,” said Lauren Rast, Ph.D., assistant professor in UAB’s College of Arts and Sciences and learning manager of MCDC. “By growing our partnerships with the local business community and expanding the program to reach larger student populations, we plan to continue to develop a curriculum and offer experiential learning opportunities that are tailored to the needs of employers and beneficial for students over the course of their lives and careers.”
“Magic City Data Collective reinforces UAB’s commitment to making sure our students have the ability to develop skills that help them look at large amounts of data, find patterns and trends, and ask questions to better understand the world around them.” – UAB President Ray L. Watts.
Through such data analysis-focused curriculum offerings noted by Rast, UAB fellows provided tangible, real-world solutions and support for partner companies and their stakeholders. Fellows participated in data collection projects including:
- Building a tech talent dashboard that identified tech workforce trends in Birmingham as compared to peer metro areas
- Creating a Birmingham City Schools report card that combined quantitative data from the state, along with qualitative data from parents, families and students, to better understand school success
- Analyzing historical philanthropic giving trends of the Protective Foundation, and making recommendations about future giving priorities
- Using machine learning to identify trends and make predictions about why Alabama college students stay in Alabama to work or leave the state after graduation
McIntosh explains that his experience supporting the Birmingham Education Foundation on its school report cards project transcended what traditional classroom knowledge he was accustomed to; it taught him about how businesses forecast problems, to see projects through start to finish and how to work within tangible deadlines, while the end-of-semester project presentations at “Demo Day” taught him how to communicate with community stakeholders.
“The experience I gained in data science has opened up a new world of career options for me and the way that I view the role of coding,” McIntosh said. “Through my fellowship, I was able to see that, while a company may have a loose conclusion in mind about something impacting their organization, we have the ability to determine a concrete answer for them through data collection. Quantifying information is really satisfying and has taught me how to look at things from an objective point of view to provide solutions that will help leaders make good decisions.”
Furthermore, his involvement in MCDC gave McIntosh a broader view of where his data collection skillset could make a difference. In understanding how vital data collection analysis is to nearly every business, nonprofit, organization and municipality looking to solve problems, he is confident that his skillset will translate and be valuable to a wide array of employers.
MCDC students presented their final project reports to a group of UAB and Birmingham business community stakeholders.Investing in the next generation
For partners like Birmingham Business Alliance, Protective, Landing, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and Birmingham Education Foundation, they are able to invest in community development projects, and are critical in helping to widen the data talent channel for underrepresented Birmingham students and connect them to future employment opportunities.
“Magic City Data Collective gives Birmingham students the opportunity to practice their existing data skills and build new ones — all while participating in paid internships that help our city make data-driven decisions,” said Cori Fain, director of Economic Development and Community Engagement at Landing. “This kind of real-world work experience makes these students attractive hires after graduation. Moreover, we know that students who participate in internships are far more likely to get a full-time job in the same city, and retaining top talent in Birmingham should be a priority for all of our businesses and universities.”
Fain adds that paying students for their talented work and critical contributions to these projects is an important part of ensuring that this opportunity is accessible to students of all backgrounds.
“We know that students who participate in internships are far more likely to get a full-time job in the same city, and retaining top talent in Birmingham should be a priority for all of our businesses and universities.”
– Cori Fain, Landing
“When we create paid internship opportunities for students, our community, economy and businesses also win,” Fain said. “The beauty of an initiative like Magic City Data Collective is that it will continue to grow and connect a diverse group of students with community partners who will, in turn, hopefully invest back in the next generation. This will only strengthen the field of data science and will make an impact in our city, state and beyond.”’
In looking towards the future of data collection and analysis and its impact on the business community locally and beyond, Rast notes that the data skills that students like MCDC fellows acquire will be increasingly valuable in career paths that are not innately thought of as “data careers,” – and it’s important that UAB be a part of this trajectory and conversation.
“As an R1 research university, a world-renowned hospital, and Alabama’s largest employer, UAB is uniquely positioned to impact our local community by connecting a diverse local population with the high-quality education necessary to connect with growing local demand for data – literate talent. UAB’s emphasis on lifelong learning has the potential to create a local workforce with high levels of data fluency, enabling the local tech sector to continue to thrive,” said Rast.
The next cohort of MCDC fellows will start their community projects in January 2022. Students interested in applying to MCDC or community partners looking to get involved may contact Emily Wykle at ewykle@uab.edu.