Tableau Software recently announced that it would offer students a free one-year license for its data visualization software, Tableau for Students, in a bid to help students enhance their learning and help them gain analytical skills.

“We’ve always had close ties to the academic community and offering our product free to students is something we can do to help them build the skills they’ll need when entering the workforce,” says Christian Chabot, company CEO and co-founder, in a press release announcing the offer.

The software typically retails for $2000 for a one-year license, but tableau will make the data visualization software available at no charge to students enrolled in any accredited K–12 or higher education institution. To receive free access to the software, students must complete and submit an application, available on the company’s website. Students may apply for an extension to the free license at the end of the first year.

Tableau for Students enables students to create data visualization projects, pictorial representations of data in the form of an animation, cloud, map or any number of other visual forms. Depending on the application, data visualization tools may be used to help viewers understand different interpretations of data or entire data pictures at a glance.

Tableau Software helps people “see and understand data,” according to the company website. The company believes that offering free access to the software will pique interest in the field of data analytics. Tableau hopes that by offering its data visualization software at no charge, it can encourage more students to enter the field of data science.

There is a pressing need for more data scientists. Research firm Gartner, Inc. projects a worldwide growth of 4.4 million IT jobs by 2015, with 1.9 million of those jobs in the United States. However, there are not enough qualified applicants for those jobs. Gartner predicts that data experts will be scarce and highly valued. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2018, the United States will face a shortage of up to 190,000 skilled data analytics workers.

Up to now, Tableau’s analytics and visualization software has been in use outside of the classroom. Major companies such as Barclays, Deloitte and Ferrari have used the software to analyze business and scientific data.

[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]

Get Free Updates!

Stay in the loop with a bi-monthly newsletter, with all our news from the previous week.

I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )

We will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Please Leave A Comment

comments

Related posts:

Wesleyan University Launches Free Online Statistics Course Facebook Offers Pilot Program to Give Students Free Wi-Fi at Home Data Analysts and Data Degrees Are Here to Stay, says SAS Clever AppClever App is Protecting the Data of Thousands of Students Marketing Software Demand Underscored by Marin Software, Inc. IPO Success