Washington University has teamed with a venture-backed technology bootcamp program to provide a pair of online courses designed to train individuals for data science careers.
WashU and San Francisco-based Springboard have formed a partnership that includes the university's Technology & Leadership Center, its professional education arm, offering training from Springboard. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
The partnership provides students the opportunity to complete Springboard’s data science and data engineering courses and receive a certificate of completion from Washington University’s Technology & Leadership Center. Springboard said its data science courses aim to help employers meet hiring needs, pointing to a report from Fortune that said job openings for data scientists have increased 480% since 2016.
Founded in 2013, Springboard is an online learning company that offers courses designed to help individuals launch or advance careers in technology. It says its programming is targeted to nontraditional students and professionals who are changing careers or seeking to advance in their profession. Springboard has raised more than $50 million from investors, closing on a $31 million Series B financing in August 2020. The startup says more than 20,000 individuals have completed its programming, with graduates being hired from a slew of major technology firms, including Google, Microsoft and St. Louis-based digital consultancy Perficient (Nasdaq: PRFT).
Springboard will offer courses in data science and data engineering through its partnership with WashU. Tuition for each course is $11,502. The data science course is designed to teach students about creating analysis from data, as well as training on programming language Python, while the data engineering course covers how to turn raw data into formats usable for analysis. The online courses involve working on “real-world projects,” Springboard says, with students being paired with industry mentors and career coaches.
“Springboard’s courses don’t simply offer an academic view of data – they give students practical experience in solving the kinds of problems they will encounter in their careers,” said Joe Streit, director of Washington University’s Technology & Leadership Center. “WashU prides itself in its future-oriented education, and I can think of no better tool kit than data skills to prepare students for the future.”
Given the online format, Springboard said it expects to enroll students nationwide for its Washington University’s courses, but added it is “focused on St. Louis area residents” being enrolled in the courses. The courses begin March 13.
