Founders commit to continuation of JADS

Eindhoven University of Technology and Tilburg University want to continue the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS) with the support of the municipality of ’s-Hertogenbosch and the province of North Brabant. The institute will remain in ’s-Hertogenbosch, in the Mariënburg monastery, but it will be organizationally embedded in the TUE department of Mathematics & Computer Science, to ensure simpler and more efficient management and lower costs. In November, both the municipality and the province will decide on the respective contributions needed for the further development.

In response to the rapidly growing importance of data science and AI, the four parties started the “Grand Initiative Data Science” in 2015. A main part of this initiative, JADS was set up as an academic environment for interdisciplinary education, practice-based research and collaboration with public and private partners. The institute combines the technical insights from Eindhoven with the Tilburg perspective on the business, legal and social components of data science and AI.

Recently, an external committee evaluated JADS and concluded that it’s a success in terms of the main goals. The institute adds significant value for Brabant and ’s-Hertogenbosch, ensuring a better business climate and economic growth. For example, the two-year master’s program in data science and entrepreneurship is of high quality and the demand for graduates is high. The EngD degree program in data science is the largest in the country. The Mariënburg complex has been developed into a fully-fledged campus with a mix of education, research and impact activities, home to about a hundred data science employees. The evaluation also reported areas for improvement: management and operations can be made more efficient and effective and the location in ’s-Hertogenbosch is expensive.