Applied Data Science

BAN426 Applied Data Science

Vår 2026

Høst 2025
  • Topics

    This is a practitioner's seminar where we will cover the use of data visualization tools in a corporate setting. No prior technical familiarity is required as we will cover the basics of gathering, cleaning and presenting data using Power BI, which is widely used in practice.

    We will focus on some of the important components of data science, such as:

    • Business Intelligence - which is turning the company's data into the actionable form of dashboards and reports
    • Machine Learning - which is, at its root, an algorithmic technique to devise predictive models, where the data generating process is treated as unknown
    • Ethics - which includes the social responsibility around deploying predictive models that have been "trained" on potentially biased data

    As this is an applied seminar, the focus will be on practical applications of the material in a business setting. Academic theory will be discussed only to the extent that it is used in practice.

  • Learning outcome

    Knowledge

    The student will know

    • what the various components of data science are and how they fit into the broader field
    • how data science is used across various industries
    • how to interpret the output from exploratory data analysis

    Skills

    The student will be able to

    • build a dashboard using a commercial business intelligence system
    • consider possible sources of bias in a dataset
    • visually analyze data to draw initial conclusions

    General competence

    The student will be able to

    • visually communicate findings to decision makers
    • convincingly argue the case for their conclusions
    • present their work for an audience

  • Teaching

    One-week intensive course with standard lectures and practical sessions with business intelligence software.

  • Credit reduction due to overlap

    None.

  • Compulsory Activity

    Mandatory attendance (at least 80 %).

  • Assessment

    A group presentation (2-5 students in a group) on a given topic.

  • Grading Scale

    Pass-Fail.

  • Computer tools

    MS Office suite, Power BI desktop

  • Literature

    Wexler et al. (2017), The Big Book of Dashboards: Visualizing Your Data Using Real-World Business Scenarios (Wiley).

    Other reading will be assigned as necessary.  

Oppsummering

Studiepoeng
2.5
Undervisningsspråk
English.
Teaching Semester

Spring. Offered spring 2026 (last week of the semester).

Course responsible

Adjunct Associate Professor Nikhil Atreya, Department of Business and Management Science.