The Center for Data Science Partners Program: Interview with Loraine Nascimento
CDS understands the importance of relationship-building between its student community and the greater data science industry. Nothing illuminates this more than our Partners Program, which aims to develop and foster mutually beneficial relationships in areas such as recruiting, research, and philanthropy.
Some notable companies and organizations we’ve partnered with include Bloomberg, Google, and Facebook as well as DeepMind and Capital One, who are founding partners of the program. Additionally, we have sponsored research partnerships with eBay, CIFAR, Inria, and Nvidia Corporation.
We caught up with our Head of External Relations & Career Development, Loraine Nascimento, to discuss some of the program initiatives and how the program has benefited both CDS students and industry partners.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Tell us a little bit about your background and what ultimately led you to CDS to become the Head of External Relations & Career Development.
I have a BA in psychology from Hofstra University, where I managed the call center and supported development efforts for Hofstra’s Office of Development and Alumni Affairs. That experience educated me on the value of external support for higher education institutions. I began supporting career services at NYU CDS as an administrative aide and continued on to manage career services when I became a program administrator and began my MS in human resources and development at NYU.
The synergy between career services and the partners program became apparent, and CDS decided it was time to join the efforts. As a result, I was named the Head of External Relations and Career Development. I was grateful to have a template started by our previous center director. I have been able to expand the model and provide concierge services to our partners. This has definitely given our partners a competitive advantage in their talent-acquisition strategy.
Can you talk a bit about the history of the Partners Program? How did the program initially begin?
The program began with our founding partner DeepMind who provided student support in 2013. As a result, we were able to create our partners program structure. We continued to add features to the partners program and created the diversity initiative in partnership with Capital One in 2017. The partnership resulted in student support for underrepresented applicants and a sponsored research partnership. As we continue to partner with organizations and assess their needs, we continue to expand the benefits offered by the CDS partners program.
What are some current program initiatives?
The current CDS partners program aims to support diversity and inclusion in the data science field. Student support has been the primary goal to make sure we are producing the top data science talent. We are also making great strides in producing and supporting research in collaboration with industry. We are continuing to expand our data science footprint by hiring and training research staff, who produce significant and award-winning outcomes.
How would you say the program has benefited both our students and our partners?
We have expanded our program to include all three levels of higher education training in data science; undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD. Students have been able to receive financial and career development support from our industry partners. The partners have definitely benefited from the opportunity to interact with students trained specifically in data science. Additionally, organizations have been able to expand their networks within NYU and build research relationships. Lastly, our industry partners have also had the opportunity to market their organizations as thought leaders as they are able to claim the affiliation to CDS.
How do you see the program evolving over the next 6 months to a year? And what is the overall vision for the future of the program?
The plan to expand the program by continuing our current partners, creating new partnerships, and expanding our footprint by engaging different industries like nonprofit/social good, music/media, and healthcare alongside the current relationships with technology and finance. As we see data science evolve, we want to continue to be the authoritative voice by continuing to be innovative and steadfast in our approach.
Do you have any final thoughts on the program that you’d like to share?
I encourage organizations to assess their data science practices and think about how they could optimize. NYU CDS partners program does an excellent job of catering to the industry partners needs. In that case, we are also happy to assess and see where we can provide guidance to our industry partners. The great part about having a program well-versed in data science with diverse intellectual contributions, is that the organization can trust CDS to provide the type of support they need despite the diagnosis.
For more information on the program, please visit the Partners Program page on our website.
By Ashley C. McDonald
