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Microsoft Professional Program For Data Science on EdX Overview

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Right now the world is changing before our eyes. At this moment Microsoft applications, platforms, and Microsoft Azure together with numerous hardware and software vendors are enabling a technological revolution around the world. Data Science (Big Data, Analytics, and Machine Learning) is changing the world as we know it. Microsoft is democratizing artificial intelligence and making previously unheard-of levels of compute power and extraordinarily complex DS/ML software available to anyone interested for pennies per hour.

Data Science and Machine Learning is the abstract, large-scale computer-based application of statistics, analytics, and mathematics combined to create artificial reasoning and prediction programs that resemble humans perception, thinking, and understanding. Much of the foundation of the technology was developed as simple formula and logic concepts by mathematicians and logician over the last few hundred years. In present day, these concepts and formulas have been programmed, packaged, and shared by communities and companies for free or pennies per hour as IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS Cloud Services for anyone and everyone to use.

In addition to all the inexpensive compute power and free software, the education and training for the technology is also free. Recognizing a shortage of qualified individuals to fill the growing need for specific job roles and technical skills, Microsoft Professional Program is a new way to learn the skills and get the hands-on experience these roles require. After passing all courses in the track and completing a final project, individuals earn a digitally sharable, resume-worthy credential that confirms mastery of these functional and technical skills.

I will be blogging my experience as I progress through the MPP curriculum with an emphasis on the Python and Machine Learning electives in the Data Science track. I'll be focusing on Machine Learning in my studies. I intend to study the concepts and technology to a reasonably technical depth. However, my goal for learning and applying the technology is that of becoming an skilled "assembler" and implementer of the many complex technologies and components involved in ML for AI. I will be taking the classes (including some additional deep study) to learn and understand the core technology with the goal of reasonable mastery and understanding of the technology for practical application.

There are many, many great sites and services I've already taken advantage of to prepare for the classes and get a strong background in the technologies. I'll be sharing them as I move along. Here's a quick list of the Top 10 I've used and found helpful in much of my study (some of these are free and other have a small cost):