Daphne Kis, CEO of WQU, Delivers Keynote at Women in Data Science Conference

Earlier this month, WorldQuant University CEO Daphne Kis had the opportunity to keynote the Women in Data Science Conference at the University of Central Florida. WiDS aims to inspire and educate data scientists worldwide, and brings together industry leaders and experts to share their insights, talk about the future, and discuss how women are making a big impact in the field.

Daphne’s keynote for the UCF gathering brought a different perspective on the discipline of data science, and the importance of women in this field. She draws on her deep and varied history in the technology industry to highlight the key learnings from her experience: that an interdisciplinary approach is the surest way to build a long, successful and fulfilling career, and that technology is a means, not an end.

These are principles that guide WorldQuant University’s mission of expanding access to a world-class education in the data sciences. We see our students around the world developing 21st century skills as a means to better themselves, their families and communities, and there are lessons that apply to the current opportunities for women in data science professions.

Daphne’s perspective is that as much as we need more women advancing the discipline, guiding its development, and standing up for their values, ethics and interests along the way, we really need women applying data science within their fields more than we need women advancing the discipline.

It’s an important distinction and one that informs how we think about the opportunities that our online curriculum provides. The data science skills we teach are important only in how our students apply them to the challenges of their communities and the problems they are seeking to solve. We’re proud to be a part of that transformation.

You can watch videos from the conference here.