Republican seminar "The Application of Statistics and Data Analysis as a Key Professional Competency"

On 27th February 2024, the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics within the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology convened a seminal Republican seminar titled "The Application of Statistics and Data Analysis as a Key Professional Competency", aligned with the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).

SDG4 is dedicated to fostering inclusive and equitable quality education alongside advocating for lifelong learning opportunities for all demographics. This encompasses initiatives to ameliorate access to primary and secondary education of the highest quality, augment the cohort receiving vocational and tertiary education, and refine the adult populace's skillset.

Statistics, the discipline concerned with the methodologies of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation, serves as the foundation of this discourse. Data analysis is centred on the processes and techniques devised to mine valuable data insights, facilitating informed decision-making. Integrating statistical analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics characterises the contemporary data analysis landscape.

These competencies are becoming paramount in the current digital epoch, given the criticality of parsing and deciphering vast datasets in any professional milieu.

The teachers of the department made the following presentations:

• Cand. Sc. (Biology), Senior Lecturer Saniya Daulatbaeva, who elucidated on "Statistics and Data Analysis in Education";
• PhD, Acting Associate Professor Anna Lovinskaya, who elucidated "Open Access Statistical Software";
• PhD, Senior Lecturer Kairat Dosybaev, who elucidated "Bioinformatics Tools for Data Analysis".

The seminar engendered a robust dialogue on the pivotal role of biostatistical knowledge and its application across the spectrum of employers and research institution personnel. Research institute staff, academic faculty members, students, and other stakeholders participated in the event, underscoring the universal relevance of the theme.