In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I explained how AT&T’s Chief Data Office (CDO) is harnessing data and making AT&T’s data assets and ground-breaking AI functionality accessible to employees across the firm. In this concluding post, I’ll highlight how we’re supporting AI and ML innovation beyond our walls and giving our employees the resources to be data experts throughout their careers.
Not only is CDO helping AT&T to leverage data and AI across its own operations, the organization is ensuring the best brains from the best companies worldwide are working together to shape the future of these technologies. AT&T’s data scientists, developers, engineers, and researchers frequently publish their work pushing the boundaries of data science and AI for the future. They also participate in industry forums and research groups, sharing and adopting best practices and new tools and ideas. In addition, our talented employees are a significant component that contributes to AT&T’s place as the U.S. company with the sixth most AI-related patents.
CDO also maintains academic and tech partnerships to cultivate the next generation of experts in statistics and machine learning, statistical computing, data visualization, text mining, time series modelling, data stream and database management, data quality and anomaly detection, data privacy, and more. For example, we recently launched the inaugural Data Science Scholars Program in conjunction with Southern Methodist University in Dallas. This program, which attracts a very diverse set of candidates, selected nine SMU students to complete both an on-campus data science curriculum and a summer data science internship with AT&T. Our plan is to offer each student interviews for full time employment with AT&T upon completion of their coursework and internship, setting up a fanatastic and incremental pipeline of great talent that will fuel AT&T’s ever increasing need for data scienists.
Data science is one of the hottest job markets in the world right now. Making this dynamic career accessible to everyone is both a business imperative and the right thing to do for the communities we serve.
In addition to cultivating the next generation of data scientists, AT&T’s CDO organization invests heavily in its own workforce, offering funding, continuous education, learning opportunities, and mentorship to ensure its data scientists and engineers stay up to date in the dynamic market and to help them continue moving forward into their professional futures.
Looking Ahead
AT&T has delivered data and AI driven value across our operations, but there is much more to do on this journey in front of us. AT&T’s entire business is transforming at pace toward a future when data and AI are completely embedded in the organization. With CDO setting the pace for AT&T’s data and AI strategy, the company is primed to lead the industry in defining the future of what’s possible.
And we’re eager for you to join us! If tackling some of the most pressing and complex data challenges using some of the most sophisticated AI and ML tools on the planet sounds like something you want to be part of, we’d love to talk.
Part 1: Harnessing Data and AI for Business Value
Part 2: Democratizing Data and AI
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