Matthew Forshaw (The Alan Turing Institute) and Donna LaLonde (American Statistical Association)
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In this session, statistics and data science educators will discuss how to prepare students for real-world professional practice. Drawing on the facilitators’ collective work with the “Alliance for Data Science Professionals”, the conversation will explore how to help students build the competencies now expected in contemporary AI-augmented workplaces. Participants will compare approaches that enable students to experience authentic research cultures, including within-curriculum project-based learning, embedded industry collaborations, and extracurricular initiatives. Attendees will share existing practices, identify gaps, and consider collective opportunities to strengthen how programs prepare learners for employment, graduate study, and research careers in statistics and data science.