Data: Your super power
How participants in our experiential session experienced the magic of our learning model and explored data super powers!

Have you unlocked data as your super power yet? Here at Xcelerator, we are all about equipping you with the tools needed to lead the change in realising the data potential within your organisation!
This past week, 20 leading professionals from top public and private companies gathered in Johannesburg to experience the magic of our learning model through the Data Science Xcelerator experiential session. The 2-hour learning experience gave a glimpse into the newly launched Data Science Xcelerator program which fuses together African Leadership Group’s unique active learning methodology, deep data science expertise and a focus on practical application in their everyday setting.
The day began with a centring introduction into the African Leadership vision and the future of leadership by our founder, Fred Swaniker. He outlined the size of the prize and the wealth of the investment that data science is!
“We see data science as one key area in which African needs to be competitive if Africa is not going to be left behind in the 21st century” — Fred Swaniker

African Leadership Group’s Seth Trudeau, Vice President of Product and Maria Makabane, Vice President of Southern Africa, kicked the event off with a bang by introducing participants to the case study for the session and their data superpowers. Participants quickly put their problem solving hats on and worked in teams to diagnose a business problem and identify data needed to dig deeper to understand the root causes. They employed the different “data superpowers” i.e., data science techniques to develop a robust data science strategy for the case at hand.
“Learning can be simple… If learning happens in doing” — Seth Trudeau

In no time at all, the attendees (none of whom were technical data scientists) were debating the merits of applying Clustering Analysis vs. Neural Networks techniques with ease. In true Xcelerator fashion, the session culminated with the various teams cross-pollinating and iterating on their solutions and finally stepping back to discuss how they would apply their learnings from the experiential in their respective jobs the next day.
“The program is great, it broadened my horizons. I came with a limited understanding of techniques I can apply to my business e.g., deep learning. But I am walking away understanding many many other options. And in fact I have identified that deep learning would not even be appropriate to apply within my organisation’s current context.” — Manager, Global Business Roundtable (session participant)
The Data Science Xcelerator is a 4-month part-time learning experience for non-technical high potential managers and leaders who are driving data science work within their organizations.
“We aim to make realising value from data science more accessible to managers tasked with driving data transformations for their organisations” — Maria Makhabane
These leaders will become the catalysts for data science within their organisations by effectively bridging between the technical, strategy and operational sides of the business.
Interested? To find out more click here.

