S4 | Ep 11 | From Zero to Hero; The Role of Education in Data & Analytics Success with Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma, Executive Chairman at Cambridge Spark

Jan 16, 2024

Dr. Raoul-Gabriel Urma discusses the role of education in Data & Analytics success, tackling industry hype, the need for commercial use cases, and investing in people for technological advancements. They explore the challenges of CDO tenure, balancing quick wins with long-term investments, and the impact of early education in data science programs. The podcast also covers comprehensive training solutions for organizations and career transitions integrating domain expertise with data analytics.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Journey in Technology, Education, and Creating Cambridge Spark

01:31 • 21min

Balancing Quick Wins and Long-Term Investments in Data Analytics

22:58 • 5min

Investing in Early Education for Data Science Programs

28:07 • 11min

Exploring Comprehensive Data and Analytics Training Solutions for Organizations

39:15 • 4min

Career Transitions and Impact of Domain Expertise in Data Analytics

42:49 • 5min

In Episode 11, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma, Executive Chairman of Cambridge Spark, where they discuss the role of education in Data & Analytics success, which includes;

Creating a business out of a passion for education and technology
Gaining a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge
Becoming a published author
The pace of technological change and transformation is becoming bigger and faster
How CDOs/CIOs are constantly battling to adopt and embrace that change
Creating a business out of a passion for education and technology
Why there’s too much hype in the industry and the impact that has on expectations
Why there needs to be more education around commercial use cases for business leaders
What it will take for Data and AI to be a profit centre
Why it’s always about people (staff and customers)
The importance of being able to see the impact of your work
The retention challenge; why Data and AI skills are in high demand
Why you have to invest in people to keep pace with technological advances
How education supports retention
Why CDO tenure often disincentivises education and people investments
How the role of the CDO is expected to deliver ROI like any other exec role
The power of a strong HR business partner
Getting the balance of delivering quick wins while also building for and investing in the future
Educational use cases from some big brand names
How apprenticeship programmes can create several £m in top-line
How graduate boot camps are reducing time to ROI
Why educated leaders understand how talent delivers profit
Why people are the first to go when costs need to be cut
Why most UK organisations don’t realise the apprenticeship levy is readily available for training existing staff
How a lack of value realisation may become a blocker for investment in education
How business leaders don’t view data and AI as something that will support revenue growth
Why training is needed for business leaders to understand how a data strategy delivers value
Why that is the job of the CDO and the importance of selling
Why CDOs need to take more credit for what they do
Understanding which educational avenue is best for your organisation
The benefits of career changers and reskilling