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PASSING THE TORCH: DYNAMIC TRANSITIONS OF POWER
August 2024
The University of the Philippines Statistical Society (UP StatSoc) is the premier academic student organization of the School of Statistics. UP StatSoc aims to develop its members holistically for the advancement of Statistics. Following this thrust, the organization has been in partnership with DataCamp Donates for 3 years, giving members an avenue to learn data science skills that they may use in their future endeavors and even supplement what they learn in the classroom.
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StatSoc has six standing committees with differing but complementary functions. One of which is the Education and Research (ER) Committee - the academic arm of the organization that handles all academic projects and initiatives such as DataCamp. One of the duties of the ER Chairperson is to ensure a smooth transition to whoever heads the committee next. This can be tricky as it involves detailed documentation of ongoing projects, sharing effective strategies, and providing mentorship to the incoming chairperson but ensuring continuity is crucial for maintaining the quality and effectiveness of initiatives like DataCamp. To assist fellow DataCamp admins, here are three key points in transitioning DataCamp responsibilities.
1. COMMUNICATION
The key to a smooth transition, as cliche as it sounds, is constant communication. Make sure to document all important achievements, requirements, and other details and communicate them in a turnover meeting with your successor.
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Prior to my term, our Internal Vice President (IVP) was responsible for the ER committee. Keeping me in the loop with all things DataCamp was extremely helpful because I was updated with the requirements, meetings, and challenges that came up. This way, no detail falls through the cracks because I was directly involved and wasn’t relying on secondhand information from whatever transpires in meetings with DataCamp.
2. ENCOURAGE INDEPENDENCE
Let your team be involved from planning to execution. This way, they truly feel that they have an impact in how to run the initiative and gain confidence for when it’s their turn to take charge. However, be sure to have a vision prior to meeting with your team so everyone has the same goal in mind.
While the IVP and I both have hands-on leadership styles, another crucial point was encouraging independence and innovation. I was already working as the vice chairperson for the subteam that handles DataCamp but involving me in administrative decisions helped me get used to the flow of things. My team was also given a lot of freedom with how we wanted to conduct DataCamp events.
3. KEEP DATACAMP IN THE LOOP
Let DataCamp know that there are changes happening in your organization since the new head will be responsible for communicating with them for the next year. Keeping them in the loop ensures a smooth transition and continuity in the partnership.
This step was very important to us so we went beyond emails. In the first required check-in meeting both my predecessor and I were present to ensure that DataCamp knew about the change.
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Overall, effective communication, documentation, thorough handover sessions, and empowering the incoming leader are key elements in facilitating a smooth transition of power. By implementing these practices, we were able to ensure continuity and success in our initiatives, ultimately driving the advancement of our organization and its goals.
UP STATISTICAL SOCIETY RENEWS PARTNERSHIP WITH DATACAMP DONATES
Written in: 2023
Are you ready for season 2 of DataCamp x StatSoc? Yes, you read that right! UP Statistical Society will get complimentary DataCamp licenses for its members for the second year in a row, courtesy of DataCamp Donates.
For the past year, StatSoc was able to fully utilize the 60 licenses given by DataCamp. StatSoc members were able to garner a whopping 100% adoption, 35% engagement, 1166 total learning hours, and over 1.2 million XP earned by StatSoc members in the last twelve months of our fruitful partnership. Did you know that three StatSoc members were even able to acquire internships or jobs with the help of DataCamp? Yes, DataCamp is that amazing!
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Now, you might be wondering: what can one learn from DataCamp? For starters, the top five completed courses of UP StatSoc members are: Introduction to R, Intermediate SQL Queries, Introduction to Python, Introduction to Power Bl, and Intermediate R. Aside from these, there are countless other programming languages you can learn while using DataCamp. Does programming intimidate you? Well, do not fret because DataCamp is here to help. Thanks to DataCamp, UP Statistical Society’s members can take full advantage of the hundreds of courses and lessons on offer to jumpstart their data science career.
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UP Statistical Society thanks DataCamp for their generous support in renewing our partnership for another year. Here’s to conquering new boundaries with data science!
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Learn more about DataCamp and the DataCamp Donates program here: www.datacamp.com/donates