Big Data is transforming the way we live, study and tackle problems − and in Haifa− it is becoming a catalyst of urban change and academic innovation.
The massive volume of information being generated daily from sources such as Twitter feeds, video recorders, mobile apps and data collected by sensors is presenting complex challenges for social science researchers.
“Big data is turning the scientific method on its head,” notes Prof. Eran Vigoda-Gadot, Dean of The Herta and Paul Amir Faculty of Social Sciences. “If traditionally scientists came up with questions to answer through investigative research, today’s researchers are more inclined to shaping investigative questions out of massive quantities of available data – effectively transforming scientific inquiry from top-bottom to bottom-up.”
Prof. Eran Vigoda-Gadot, Dean
The Herta and Paul Amir Faculty of Social Sciences
The “big data” approach to scientific discovery is producing a paradigm shift in the field. “More information leads to more integrative answers that can produce new approaches and solutions. Our challenge is to familiarize ourselves with the data, its sources, and the tools used in its collection and analysis, so that we, as social scientists, can derive scientific and social value from it,” explains Vigoda-Gadot. “Such a goal requires us to teach graduate and undergraduate students state-of-the-art methods for data acquisition and analysis. To that end, we are introducing a rigorous data science component, involving close interdisciplinary cooperation, across departments within and outside the Faculty. This approach will position us at the forefront of addressing significant global challenges affecting society.”
The University’s administration has decided to relocate the Departments of Computer Science, Information Systems and Statistics to Haifa’s central high-tech and biomedical district downtown, with the opening of the Lorry I. Lokey City Campus. In fact, the University is also establishing a School of Data Sciences, the first of its kind in Israel.
“Researchers at the Lorry I. Lokey City Campus
will have immediate access to Haifa’s budding high
-tech industry, which will accelerate the translation of
massive data volumes and inspire breakthroughs in
technology, science and medicine, and smart decision
-making,” notes Rector Mesch, who previously served
as the Dean of The Herta and Paul Amir Faculty of
Social Sciences.
Rector Gustavo Mesch
The new campus, consisting of four buildings, is part of the University of Haifa’s Multiversity vision of providing enhanced research and educational experiences for faculty and students and further economic growth and social mobility for the region. Its central location at the Haifa port provides convenient access to railway stations and major roadways in and out of the city.
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