In order to meet the needs of society, Doshisha University is promoting "education in mathematics, data science, and AI" not just at individual faculties but as a university as a whole. We spoke with Professor Yadori Yadori, chairman of the Doshisha Data Science and AI Education Program Steering Committee, about the background and content of the Doshisha University educational program "Doshisha Data Science and AI Education Program" (DDASH)*, which began in 2022, the feedback from students who are actually taking the program, and future developments.
*DDASH: Doshisha Approved Program for Data science and AI Smart Higher Education
Why did Doshisha University start DDASH as a university?
In 2011, Germany launched "Industry 4.0 (the Fourth Industrial Revolution)" as a national policy, and began promoting cyber-physical systems that utilize sensor-based information gathering and computer networks in the manufacturing industry. Following this, in 4, Japan also shared a "super smart society" in which cyberspace and physical space (the real world) are highly integrated as a vision of the future, and decided at a cabinet meeting to strongly promote efforts to realize this, calling it "Society 2016."
"Looking at a graph of the 'Changes in the number of employees by occupation (growth rate)' estimated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2016, it is estimated that by 2030, demand for IT work will increase across industry, including the introduction of IoT in manufacturing and strengthening security, and that 45 employees will be needed for IT work. It is clear that there will be an overwhelming shortage in this field. In light of this prediction, the Cabinet Office has set a goal as part of its efforts toward education reform, to ensure that all citizens learn the basics of 'mathematics, data science, and AI', which are the 'reading, writing, and arithmetic' of the digital society. In education, a series of efforts is needed from elementary, junior high, and high school to university, so the curriculum guidelines for elementary, junior high, and high school have been revised, and currently, students from the first grade of elementary school to high school are required to take lectures related to data analysis.
Meanwhile, universities need to provide education to all 50 university and technical college graduates each year according to their literacy, applied basics, and expert levels, which has led to the current program. Currently, the "AI Strategy 2022" is a new, steady effort aimed at "AI for everything." In addition to the existing knowledge and skills in mathematics, data science, and AI, this strategy states that "the ability to design new forms of society, products, and services based on humanities, social sciences, and arts education is necessary," and it also requires the development of critical thinking skills to avoid simply accepting the results of one-sided data analysis and AI.
Currently, about half of large companies use data in corporate planning, product planning, and marketing, about 2% use more advanced AI and machine learning technologies in their business, and about 5% have departments dedicated to data analysis. We are entering an era where people will be left behind if they decide that it is not relevant because they are in the humanities or outside their field of expertise. In response to this social demand, Doshisha University will start an educational program called "DDASH" from 2022 for all undergraduate students, regardless of whether they are in the humanities or sciences, to learn "mathematics, data science, and AI," which is equivalent to the current "reading, writing, and arithmetic."
