RStudio is excited to announce the public release of RStudio Academy. Academy is a mentor-led data science apprenticeship for professionals. RStudio experts provide training that focuses on learning and applying data science skills — not just broadcasting facts.

Academy has been in beta for over a year and has helped many organizations raise the data science skill level of their teams.

Move beyond facts to acquire real-life skills

Facts, such as statistical function names, make up the foundation of most learning experiences. Facts can be learned by reading, watching a video, or working through a simple example. However, data science requires both facts and skills — applying facts to solve real-life problems. Learners need relevant practice and ongoing feedback to improve their data science skills.

With this in mind, we designed Academy to provide a space for practice as well as an environment for feedback. Academy consists of:

• An online platform deployed as a dedicated learning environment for each customer.
• A cohort-based, mentor-led data science apprenticeship model, where learners get ongoing assistance and guidance from their mentor and fellow learners.

Academy spans 10 weeks and is divided into clear, progressive milestones. Each week, learners complete interactive tutorials and practice adaptive exercises that teach the skills needed to complete each milestone. Mentors provide strategies for self-directed learning to use throughout the apprenticeship and beyond.

A learning platform tailored to your data science team’s needs

For those who work with data day-to-day, it is difficult to carve out time to improve their data science skillset. Learning resources are generic and cannot always be applied to the task at hand. Leaders need to prioritize targeted learning for their teams to grow in their capabilities.

Academy provides opportunities tailored to specific use cases and learning goals. RStudio works with you to develop projects that are highly relevant to your organization’s daily work.

With Academy, your team receives:

• Immersive Content: The learning experience is tailored to reflect the daily work and goals of the team, with real-life use cases, data, and best practices.
• Adaptive Practice: The platform delivers adaptive practice and spaced repetition so that the individual learner can master the relevant skills.
• Timely Feedback: Mentors regularly provide direct feedback on progress, both individually and to the group. Tutorials contain interactive exercises, which provide immediate feedback tailored to students’ specific answers.
• Social Accountability: Interactions with the mentor and cohort of fellow learners help motivate students to stay on top of their work and reach beyond the core lesson plan.

This approach ensures your team gains the specific skills they need to drive business value.

Learn more

RStudio Academy delivers a turn-key data science learning platform to help professionals increase the level of their data science skills. We are very excited to offer it to your team.

• Check out the new Academy site.
• Contact RStudio sales or reach out to your customer service representative.