In their ongoing coverage of the M.I.T. Data Quality Program Conference, Dave Vellante and Jeff Kelly spoke with Michael Rappa, Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Analytics at North Carolina State University. The three discuss the Institute’s program to produce data scientists, as well as duties and opportunities for graduates.

The goal of the Institute for Advanced Analytics is to produce data scientists through an intense 10-month program with real world applications. Students learn how to understand a business problem and clean, organize and model data. Students address sample problems from leaders in diverse sectors from Proctor and Gamble to the Houston Astros and various government organizations.

According to Rappa, as businesses and government continue to grow in their appreciation for data, the field of data science is seen as “a very value added occupation.” He also notes, that when it comes to data collection, analysis and storage, “If it’s not an asset it’s a liability.” In other words, it’s not enough to have data just to have it, one must make sense of it and use it.

So, Vellante inquires, “how do we get value out of data?” Rappa explains that it starts with quality, which data scientists can assess. Rappa says, “It is a real common thing for organizations to not see the value in their data.” Handling huge datasets, data scientists must make decisions concerning data reduction, data quality and, what Rappa suggests is the most important, data retention. Data cuts across the whole economy, utilized in various public and private industry sectors. Rappa adds, “certain data problems demand a ruthless amount of data quality, like banking.”

Check out the full interview:

Kelly asks about what he calls “the less sexy aspects” of data science, inquiring about the role of the data scientist in data governance. (Rappa jokes that he has yet to meet a “sexy” data scientist.) Rappa notes that the departure point for data scientists should always be the business problem to be solved, not the tools of analysis. Data scientists do have a role in data governance, but that role will be determined by the specific issue at hand.

Given the high-demand for the skill-set of data scientists, Rappa suggests, “There’s no way to scale enough PhD’s in data science.” Six straight classes of graduates from the Institute graduate with full employment. He notes that students in the Institute “are the highest paid and most sought after” and believes, “if we do this with 80 students, we could be doing this with 800.” He suggests there is a great need for people educated at a master’s level with understanding of master’s level statistics. While universities produce so many M.B.A.’s, Rappa says, “we need more graduating with a deeper knowledge of how to deal with data.”

Looking to the future, Rappa suggests: “In a matter of a few years, we’re going to see that everyone is going to look through their organizations through a window of data. They’re going to make much better decisions on where they’ve been and where they’re going.”