Welcome to the course

Welcome to Get ready for a Masters in Data Science and AI, a free two-week taster course.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be delving into some of the topics covered in a Masters in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence so you can experience what it’s like to learn online at your own pace.

This course will help you assess your understanding of data science and learn the basics involved. It will also help you to make an informed decision around choosing a Master’s in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

This week, we will explore:

• What it means to be a data scientist
• The importance of asking questions in data science
• How data is physically stored in a computer system
• The first steps in designing a program and writing Python code

Getting the most out of your learning

To get the very best learning experience, take a look at these tips and tools for social learning. Don’t forget, while robust debate is encouraged, it’s important that you follow the FutureLearn Code of Conduct and are respectful of your fellow learners.

Checking your progress

When you reach the end of a step and have understood everything, select the ‘mark as complete’ button. This will update your progress page and help you keep track of which steps you’ve completed. These completed steps will turn blue on your to-do list.

You can check your progress page by selecting the icon at the top of the step. This will show the percentage of course steps you’ve marked as complete.

Your task

Introduce yourself and describe why you are interested in data science.