KTU researchers and business representatives say that when looking for a competitive advantage in the economic space, business digitization can help – one of the priority goals of Industry 4.0. Meanwhile, a new generation of specialists is already needed to implement and support digitization.
Kaunas University of Technology Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (KTU MGMF) Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics Gintarė Vaidelienė says that today the university trains specialists who are in high demand on the labor market.
“We can be happy that our applied mathematics undergraduates are successfully integrating into the labor market today, and the first batch of undergraduate data science engineers will graduate in June of this academic year,” she says.
Specialties of the new era
According to her, these two study programs are close to each other, but there is also a very clear divide between them.
“Applied mathematics is dominated by the development of various mathematical models and their application in the real world, while Data Science and Engineering is the use of data science methods and information systems in solving problems, creating and making new decisions,” says the KTU researcher.
She emphasizes that the main reason for the recent study program is the rapidly developing technologies related to data analysis and their application. The popularity of these technologies requires highly qualified specialists who are able to efficiently manage, analyze and exploit data in various fields.
The second reason is that the business market is constantly looking for skilled data scientists and engineers, and there is a shortage of these experts in many industry sectors.
“Therefore, we sought to meet these changes in the market and ensure that students are ready for the future labor market,” emphasizes G. Vaidelienė.
According to her, the new data science engineers already have great opportunities to realize themselves while studying in various fields and companies that appreciate the importance of data analysis and its application in their activities.
“These are companies that generate data in their activities, implement data management solutions, create and develop various technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, etc. State supervisory authorities, scientific research institutes, startups also have a need for data scientists. “The recently signed cooperation agreement with the company Prodivi, where our researchers can deepen their knowledge and skills in real business situations, only shows the growing need for these experts,” says the KTU researcher.
Four areas of digitization
Mantas Kačerauskas, director of Prodivi company, says that digitization of business is currently an almost critically important factor in every organization.
“I could divide the digitization of every business establishment into four main directions: hygiene, digital modernity of workplaces and data analytics,” says M. Kačerauskas.
According to him, the first area has already become business “hygiene” – business management systems in the company, with which the main processes of the company are managed.
The second area, according to the business representative, is the digital modernity of workplaces in daily activities.
“We call it part of the digital organization, in other words, we believe that all workplaces in a business should be digitized and that all employees in the organization should have access to software to manage their day-to-day work,” he says.
The third area, according to M. Kačerauskas, is the most important – data analytics.
“With the emergence of more data in companies, there is a very natural need to improve the company’s performance. And here, in many cases, company data “come” to the rescue, and after using it, we get a lot of answers on how to do it. We believe and feel from our clients that companies that see their businesses through mathematical data have a huge advantage – in most cases, they are more stable, the growth rate is higher and they “hold up” better in the natural market – reveals the company’s manager.
The fourth area, according to him, is AI or the use of highly advanced technologies, which already today can raise the processes of some companies to a completely different, higher quality and more productive level. According to the businessman, the name of the digitalized company corresponds to the companies that improve all the areas listed before.
“And in response to the question of how business digitization is carried out, I can mention that qualified employees are critically important, not only from our side, but also from the client’s side. Most often, companies digitize if there is a clear problem or if there are innovative employees in the company – such as, for example, KTU prepares”, he says.
Critical ability – logical thinking
When talking about why businesses need to digitize their businesses, the entrepreneur says that this question should be changed to another question – “why businesses need to digitize their operations?”
“Basically, currently only small companies that do not aim for quality parameters or development can survive without digitizing their activities. Companies that have a low level of digitization often cannot answer simple questions such as: Are my products or services of good quality? what can be done to make processes more efficient? what to do so that the development of the company reaches a certain level? As far as I know, today some medium or larger companies would not be able to carry out their activities without reaching a medium or high level of digitization”, says M. Kačerauskas.
So, my shorter answer would be – the simplest to survive the next decade. I should also remind you about the possibilities of AI, which Lithuanian advanced companies are already using today and gaining enormous advantages.
A business representative, speaking about what qualities are needed for specialists working in his company who both program and work with AI, M. Kačerauskas says that the critical ability is mathematical – logical thinking.
“Institutions that train specialists well and are able to work with data often understand the nuances of business processes in different areas quite well and quickly. It should be mentioned that already at this time graduates of KTU’s Applied Mathematics study program make up a large part of our company’s employees and are one of the factors of our development. We are very pleased with their level of preparation and believe that cooperation with MGMF is of strategic importance to us,” he says.
Tags: needed quality development
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