Skilltype and UCLA DataX partner to Surface Data Expertise
LOS ANGELES, CA – UCLA’s DataX initiative and Skilltype are excited to announce a groundbreaking partnership to surface data expertise across the campus community, marking a significant milestone for higher education. Skilltype, an American software company, provides talent management software that uses real-time data to help information professionals and their teams identify, develop, and share expertise.
This collaboration extends Skilltype’s expertise in mapping skills to the broader university, empowering a new vertical of data science professionals that multiplies our target audience.
Interim Faculty Director with the UCLA DataX Initiative, Dr. Safiya Noble, added, “This new partnership with Skilltype is going to give us the empirical evidence we need to help educate the next generation of data scientists and critical data scholars at UCLA. Our goal is to better understand the employment opportunities for data scientists across every industry in need of a skilled workforce. Skilltype is poised to help us meet that demand with graduates who are prepared to work in data-driven industries. Whether our graduates are working in fundamental data science, or will engage in creative and innovative uses of data at work, or take jobs that require thinking critically about issues of data and justice in society, I believe this partnership will help our faculty and students identify the knowledge and skills they need to be successful.”
Founded in 2021, the DataX initiative at UCLA serves as a central hub for data expertise, uniting various departments with a specific focus on interdisciplinary approaches to the study and use of data. Established to serve the entire campus community, DataX aims to facilitate collaborative research across departments and disciplines, using Skilltype’s platform to identify expertise at scale.
In this partnership, Skilltype will contribute its extensive metadata and technology expertise to support DataX in organizing knowledge around data science and AI across the UCLA campus. Faculty and staff at UCLA will gain access to the Skilltype platform, which will enable them to perform skills analysis and development more effectively, aligning with the goals of the DataX initiative. With Skilltype’s community tools, members of different departments, schools, and colleges across campus interested in working with data or AI will be able to identify the right collaborators to support their work.
Founder and CEO of Skilltype, Tony Zanders, commented, “We’re honored to partner with UCLA to begin our next chapter serving organizations outside of the library industry with skills tools. The DataX Initiative is leading the charge to ensure theorists and practitioners possess the skills to solve real world problems, while understanding the impact their decisions have on society.”
About UCLA DataX
UCLA DataX is a strategic initiative focused on strengthening research and education in data science and critical data studies across more than 40 different schools, divisions, departments, programs, institutes, centers, and initiatives.
About Skilltype
Skilltype, headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA, USA, provides talent management software designed for knowledge management organziations and information professionals. Since its founding in 2018, Skilltype is now used by over 200 organizations across 8 countries.
