photo: Dominika Hull-Bruska
Social analytics – a new field of stody at the UWr
Social Analytics is a new field of study offered at our University starting in the 2024/2025 academic year. These will be full-time first-cycle studies. The classes will be held at the Faculty of Social Sciences of our university. It is a filed of study for those who want to combine knowledge of social reality with practical skills to study it and process large sets of empirical data for business decisions and strategies, among other things. Recruitment for this direction is already underway, and details can be found at www.rekrutacja.uni.wroc.pl.
Today we talk to the scientists who are the creators of the field of study of social analytics. They will tell us about the study program, staff, specialties, recruitment, motivations for launching this course at our university.
Agata Mitek: How did you come up with the idea of just establishing social analytics at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wrocław?
Prof. dr hab. Barbara Wiśniewska-Paź: We are witnessing the rapid development of social behavior research and the increasing use of these analyses by public institutions, consulting firms and other market players. We are also seeing a growing array of research tools used to analyze public attitudes, preferences and expectations. Institutions and companies are not only using proven methods such as interviews. They are also increasingly tapping into the opportunities offered by big data. For example, the footprints we leave on the Internet have become a valuable source of information used in market analysis, local government policy, security efforts and consulting activities. In order to effectively extract this information, it is necessary to have certain skills – a deep understanding of the specifics of social behavior and the ability to use analytical and software tools. Without these competencies, it is difficult to acquire data on society and discover its full meaning. As a result, there is a growing need for specialists who know how to get the information they want and then can say something of value about it.
The rationale for this program was confirmed by information obtained during consultations with representatives of research companies and state and local government institutions that need to process social data to make accurate business decisions and define public policy goals.
We felt we could effectively address these needs by leveraging our staff’s experience in conducting numerous social surveys, including those using big data. That’s why we created a study program that integrates our experiences and shows how to effectively combine traditional and modern research methods. This program teaches where to look for the increasingly abundant data produced, how to process it, how to accurately interpret the collected information, and how to formulate accurate conclusions and recommendations based on it for various audiences.
AM: Who can apply for this field of study? Do one needs to have any special competence and skills to study it? Is it a field of study for humanists or is it more for people with an aptitude for science?
Prof. dr hab. Barbara Wiśniewska-Paź: This field of study combines the acquisition of competence in methods, techniques and tools for analyzing large data sets with the development of skills for interpreting them, drawing conclusions, building recommendations and proposing solutions. The new field of study is aimed at people curious about how people function in society, who want to use this knowledge to later advise institutions in preparing and implementing marketing activities and initiatives that solve specific problems.
The program strongly reflects our work as experts working with the socio-economic environment and institutions in the security field. We use a variety of statistical and programming methods in it, and we want to share this knowledge so that people graduating from our studies know how to properly and responsibly apply the various analytical solutions. We are therefore looking for people who would like to try their hand at data analysis, but who are also open to developing soft skills – the ability to formulate interesting conclusions and present them attractively, to build a convincing argument, and to consider the research results obtained in the context of broader local and global political, economic and social processes
AM: A few words about the rules of recruitment. What baccalaureate subjects (Matura exam subjects) will be considered? When to recruit and how to recruit?
Dr Dawid Krysiński: Registration in the Online Candidate Registration (IRK) system is scheduled to begin on June 3. Meanwhile, the last day to register and pay recruitment fees (determined by the date of transfer) is July 11. On July 17, we will announce the first list of those qualified to submit documents.
Those wishing to study Social Analytics must pass the new Matura exam in mathematics, Polish and one elective subject: Civics, history or geography. One modern language is also required. The exact scoring conversion rate can be found on the recruitment website, which we encourage you to visit.
AM: Are specializations provided for in the field of study? If so, which ones? When will a student choose a specialisation? What will be the admission criteria for the specialisation?
Dr Dawid Krysiński: About halfway through the training cycle, students will be invited to attend monograph lectures that will introduce the nature of three separate specializations. Then they will be able to decide which path is most interesting to them, and from then on they will participate in thematic classes, with a strong emphasis on analyzing specific cases from the area of specialization.
We have prepared three specialisations, the first of which is market and marketing analysis. We chose this path, recognizing the growing interest in market research by marketers and the importance of big data in gaining knowledge about consumer preferences.
The second specialisation, “Security Analytics, Management and Education,” emphasizes the analysis of social data that can be useful in effectively countering and responding to a broad spectrum of social threats involving, among other things, disinformation or the management of security crises of various backgrounds and scope. The basis within this course is national and international security, security culture, institutional security management strategies and educational strategies in the security field. In the course “Laboratory of social research in the field of security,” students will learn about the main threats in this research area and the role of social data in identifying and forecasting them. An important aspect will also be to analyze people’s behavior in order to accurately predict their reactions in crisis situations.
The third specialisation, urban data analysis, is the result of our long-standing cooperation with local government institutions. We see that city authorities are becoming increasingly interested in using social data to solve transportation problems and predict demand for city services, among other things. Citizen activism is also on the rise, and residents are increasingly willing to come up with specific expectations, which need to be identified and an estimate of how many people expect each demand to be implemented. Our goal, therefore, is to educate people who will be able to monitor the level of residents’ satisfaction and expectations, identify community problems, and efficiently analyze this information and provide the authorities with concrete guidelines for action.
AM: What subjects will be included in the social analytics degree program? Which are mandatory items, which are optional.
Dr Aneta Uss-Lik:The set of mandatory subjects includes, among others, the basics of using programming and database languages (e.g., Python and SQL) to work with data, the basics of geoinformation analysis (GIS), advanced survey design, and an overview of traditional social data collection methods and techniques. The curriculum also includes an introduction to user experience (UX) research, the basics of evaluation research, and subjects that introduce various statistical analytical techniques, including those using machine learning. We have also planned classes in data visualization, public speaking and research team management. Option subjects, on the other hand, focus on the specialties mentioned earlier. They include data-driven urban management learning, analysis of urban change using multivariate statistical techniques, elements of diagnostic research and strategic planning based on urban data processing, data analysis in the marketing mix, classes on market segmentation and product positioning, institutional security management strategies, and a social research laboratory in the area of security.
AM: What can you do after this field of study? Where can you find a job afterwards?
dr hab. Ewa Banaszak, prof. UWr: We focus on developing skills that will be of value to technology, consulting, marketing, medical and scientific companies, as well as to public institutions, local governments and NGOs.
In creating the Social Analytics program, we conducted a detailed analysis of the expectations and requirements of Lower Silesian employers, including large corporations and consulting firms. We researched in which areas they use social data and how they process it, which allowed us to adjust the study program to meet the requirements of the job advertisements.
Our extensive experience in working with these entities has also been crucial. As a result, we have an excellent understanding of the needs of potential employers and can direct the education so that those studying Analytics are able to meet the expectations of the job market.
AM: What makes the social analytics major different from other such fields of study at other universities in Poland?
Prof. dr hab. Barbara Wiśniewska-Paź: A key differentiator of our studies is the strong emphasis on data interpretation. We are committed to ensuring that those studying Analytics stand out in the job market not only for their technical and analytical skills, but also for their perceptiveness and comprehensive knowledge of society. Such a broad perspective broadens interpretive possibilities and gives an advantage in understanding the numerous social phenomena and processes under study. We want not only to show how to collect and analyze data using a wide range of traditional and modern analytical methods, but also to train the ability to think critically and comprehensively about the results obtained. We are committed to ensuring that our students are able to formulate accurate and, above all, interesting and non-obvious conclusions.
AM: A few words about the staff on the social analytics – who are the lecturers?
Prof. dr hab. Barbara Wiśniewska-Paź: The classes will be taught by experts with extensive experience in using various methods of data collection and analysis. This will enable those studying to learn from practitioners who work with local government institutions or implement market projects on a daily basis.
Our lecturers have experience in directing research diagnosing a variety of social problems, preparing local development strategies, as well as creating products and marketing them based on previous marketing research. They know how to study people’s needs and preferences, implement local government policies, solve social problems, and advise other institutions using increasingly offbeat data resources in the process. They are also skilled in public speaking, so they can suggest what to pay attention to when preparing for such presentations. Thanks to this, we can guarantee that the classes will be full of practical examples – because we want to show how particular analytical methods are used in reality and bring closer the specifics of an analyst’s work in various institutions.
SOCIAL ANALYTICS – read more about the field of study.
We invite you to recruit to study at the University of Wrocław! Detailed rules of recruitment, schedules, limits of places, list of fields of study and specialisations can be found on www.rekrutacja.uni.wroc.pl.
