Small companies from Navarre get coached on digital transformation

Data Science Laboratory teaches them about the importance of data

These days one of the most relevant and strategic assets for any forward-thinking company is its database. Managing data has thus become an essential pre-requisite for surviving and thriving in today’s fierce market that evolves more and more towards digitalization.

With that in mind, the Government of Navarre has developed a strategic plan, part of which seeks to help small and medium enterprises get more skilful in riding the crest of this new wave and consequently make them more competitive. A total of 30 companies from the autonomous region were given the chance to participate in the so-called Data Science Laboratory. The first phase of the training program has already concluded and now the companies will have until 31 March 2021 to develop and present a project.

The next Industrial Revolution should move from being an abstract term to becoming a concrete reality for all

During the first phase of the initiative (9-19 November), the enterprises learned the basic knowledge and specialized tools in advanced analytics and Artificial Intelligence. These are necessary components in order to get comfortable with the large-scale data processing operations common to Industry 4.0.

Among the fields that were explored and the skills that were acquired was the handling of basic statistical concepts, the types of machine learning models and the main programming language in data science.

Interestingly, although half of the businesses were involved in the agri-food and manufacturing sphere, the other half were from the ICT (information and communication technology) sector.

For the second group, the training was naturally of a different nature tailored to their specialized field. They were provided with a ‘basic tool kit’ that gives them the capability to take on data science projects for the benefit of their client companies.

All of the enterprises now have until 31 March 2021 to apply the principles learned during the theoretical component of the training in practice, with the help of a professional consultant.