Workshop Highlights New Avenues in India
A
three-day national workshop on
recent trends in statistics was held by null
A statistics student whose basic concepts are clear and
the statistics department of Modern
who has a mindset to learn and apply new things can
College of Arts, Science, & Commerce in
get a good job as an external consultant
Pune, India, under the Quality Improvement
null
.
Program in December 2007. The activities
taking place during the workshop included
H. Urdhwareshe of the Institute of
industry. A person with a basic degree in
research paper presentations, lectures, a
Quality & Reliability has experience work-
statistics and good knowledge of computer
poster competition for college students, a
ing in industry and described situations
programming has many opportunities in
panel discussion, and a book exhibition.
where techniques such as DoE, ANOVA,
the design and analysis of clinical trials. A
The panel discussion turned out to be
and reliability are used. He said an industry
statistics student whose basic concepts are
the most successful activity, according to
employee is an internal consultant, himself,
clear and who has a mindset to learn and
feedback forms. It was attended by all 118
and the motto should be “Learn, Apply,
apply new things can get a good job as an
participants, college students, and teach-
Teach, Reinforce” (LATR).
external consultant.
ers from most of the colleges in Pune. The
Chitra Lele, a consultant, began her
Sham Wagh, a consultant who graduated
topic of the discussion was “New Avenues
career as a teacher after completing her
from the Indian Institute of Management in
for Statistics Students.”
PhD at Stanford University, but was not
Ahmedabad, India, has worked for indus-
Avinash D. Dharmadhikari from Tata
satisfied with that path. So, using her work
try. Wagh said the basic knowledge of sta-
Motors coordinated the discussion and
on cancer research in the United States,
tistics is helpful when working in finance.
expressed his belief that statistics teachers
she joined a pharmaceutical company as
With a fast-developing Indian economy,
must practice statistics. For him, students
a biostatistician. She advocated that in the
the scope for equity research is growing.
constitute the first generation of statis-
last five to seven years, there have been tre-
Statisticians are needed in banks for risk-
tics, while teachers constitute the second.
mendous opportunities in multinationals
and currency-related analysis. They also are
Due to internationalization of education,
due to globalization and outsourcing. There
needed for international credit rating agen-
everybody must be ready to learn new
is a lot of need for statisticians in research
cies looking forward to collaborating with
techniques. The questions why and how
and development in the pharmaceutical
Indian agencies. n
must be asked at every stage, emphasizing
the role of statistics, he said. Statistics is a
problemsolving science and must be used
in that way. In industry and educational
institutions, statisticians should be involved
in decisionmaking. To use statistics more
CAREER Program Open to Proposals
efficiently, Dharmadhikari suggested the
training of Six Sigma methodology and
Proposals are due July 24, 2008, for the National Science Foundation’s
software, such as SAS.
Faculty Early Career Development Program, the foundation-wide activity
S. R. Kulkarni from Crane Software
that offers the foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior fac-
in Bangalore, India, said if students take
ulty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding
statistics training and computer software
research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research
together and develop a practice of learn-
within the context of their organizations’ mission. Such activities should build
ing new techniques, it would help them
a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and
and their employers. Statistics practi-
research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior fac-
tioners must be good at programming,
ulty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations, and especially encourages
interpretation of output, and describing
women, members of under-represented minority groups, and persons with
conclusions in the user’s language. He
disabilities to apply.
advised statistics teachers to get involved
Each year, NSF selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards
in market research projects. They can
for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from among the most meritorious new
apply their knowledge of time series,
CAREER awardees.
cluster, and conjoint analysis and, with
For a synopsis of the program and information, visit the NSF web site at
a little knowledge and training of SAS,
www.nsf.gov/career.
work as consultants. He emphasized those
statisticians who are willing to learn new
things will have successful careers.
JUNE 2008 AMSTAT NEWS 9
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