Department of Data Analysis and Operations Research
General information
Department of Data Analysis and Operations Research (originally named as Department of Economic Cybernetics) is a structural unit of Institute of Computational Mathematics and Information Technologies (originally named as Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics) of Kazan Federal University (previously, Kazan State University).
Department of Data Analysis and Operations Research was established (as Department of Economic Cybernetics) in 1978 at Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics (later reorganized to Institute of Computational Mathematics and Information Technologies) of Kazan State University (now Kazan Federal University).
The establishment of the Department naturally resulted from the joint research in several areas, namely, in mathematics, economics and geography, conducted at KSU since early 1960-th. An important role in this research was played by prominent scientists of Kazan State University Ya.I.Zabotin, V.F.Semenov, and N.I.Blazhko. They were first to understand the importance of a new research area aimed at the practical application of mathematical models and methods in solving economic problems, particularly, in the optimal control of production processes. Their joint efforts resulted in the formation of the Kazan scientific school in Operations Research. The most noticeable results were obtained by the faculty of the Department in the development of the theory and methods for solving extremum problems.
The first Head of the Department of Economic Cybernetics was Professor Yaroslav Zabotin, who headed the Department for 20 years. Then the Department was successively headed by his followers Evgenij Knyazev and Valerij Fazylov. All these years the Department provided students training in the Program «Mathematical Methods in Economics». By Order of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, in 2010 the admission to this Program was closed. That year Professor Moukadas Missarov was elected as the Head of the Department. In 2012 the Department of Economic Cybernetics was renamed to the Department of Data Analysis and Operations Research.
«Data Analysis» и «Operations Research» are two closely connected disciplines with a common mathematical base, namely, Mathematical Statistics, Discrete and Continuous Optimization, and Mathematical Modeling.
Department of Data Analysis and Operations Research is headed by Professor Moukadas Missarov. In 1977 Moukadas Missarov graduated from Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University. In 1980 he got a post-graduate degree in the Probability Theory at MSU. Since 1980 he has been working at Kazan State (now Federal) University. In 1999 Moukadas Missarov was awarded the Doctoral Degree in Mathematics and Physics. The research interests of Moukadas Missarov include the Probability Theory, Mathematical Physics, Operations Research, and Data Analysis. Among the most noticeable scientific results obtained by Moukadas Missarov, one should mention the establishment of the formalism of projection Hamiltonians for describing self-similar random fields; pioneering works on the use of р-adic number fields in the Probability Theory and Mathematical Physics; the development of the Non-Perturbative Renormalization Group Theory in the fermionic hierarchical model.
Educational programs
At present the Department is responsible for the Bachelor's Degree Program 38.03.05 «Business Informatics».
Business Informatics is a relatively new Bachelor's degree program focused at the projection, development, and application of informational and communication systems in business sphere. This program, which was first proposed in German universities, is of high demand in Europe and USA now.
Graduates with the Bachelor's degree in «Business Informatics» deal with the development, maintenance, and exploitation of corporate information systems, they perform planning, supervision, and coordination of various business processes. Among problems related to their competencies, one should mention
The objects of professional activity of experts in Business Informatics are
The courses taught at junior level are focused at
The courses taught at senior level are focused at specific subjects such as
A specific feature of the «Business Informatics» Curriculum is the focus at Mathematical Modeling in Economics. This means that students get knowledge and skills in Operations Research and Forecasting in Economics, Logistics, Financial and Insurance Mathematics.
The latter stages of the program include the internship and pre-diploma practice and preparation and defense of the Bachelor's thesis.
Where do our graduates work?
Bachelor's degree graduates work at governmental bodies of various levels, financial, economic, analytical, and information departments of industrial enterprises and institutions of all legal forms, in banks and insurance companies, investment and pension funds, educational and research institutions.
The most successful graduates can continue their education at Institute of Computational Mathematics and Information Technologies, KFU by entering some Master's program, for example, «Mathematical Methods and Information Technologies in Business».
Department of Data Analysis and Operations Research also provides the training of students in the Program «Mathematical and Information Support of Economic Activity», which is a special branch of the Bachelor's Program «Applied Mathematics and Informatics» (one group of students), and in the Master's Program «Data Analysis and Applications». This Master's Program is focused at the most promising theory and methods of Data Analysis, namely, at the development of self-learning techniques for data and knowledge retrieval from databases (Machine Learning).
The more and more efficient techniques for data collecting, storing and processing allow one to accumulate huge databases in various branches of Science, Economy, and Engineering. For example, mention databases of chemical compounds, genomic and medical biometric data, text files and images, Internet data, e-commerce databases of financial and banking transactions. Naturally, the development of methods for the retrieval of hidden (implicit) non-trivial information from huge amounts of data, the search of non-obvious dependencies that actually take place and their application in practice becomes very important now both in fundamental and applied science. This gives rise to Data Analysis as a new interdisciplinary branch of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.
Data Analysis has many applications in Banking and Finance (for example, Forecasting and Trading robots), Internet Economy (for example, texts and images processing, search engines), Pattern Recognition in Engineering and Medicine, Chemo- and Bioinformatics (in particular, computer design drugs and genome analysis) and many others.
Several Russian and International Universities have specialized departments for Data Analysis, for example, Moscow State University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) (MIPT), Higher School of Economics (HSE), The George Washington University (Washington DC, USA).
A Program in Data Analysis was recently launched by the famous Russian Internet company Yandex. According to expert forecasts, Data Analysis soon will be one of the most sought-after programs in developed countries.
Research areas
The faculty of the Department is involved in research in many areas, including
Graduates
Educational programs proposed by the Department have always been of high demand. Our graduates work at leading industrial enterprises of Republic of Tatarstan (such as Kama Automobile Plant (KamAZ), Organic Synthesis Plant (Orgsintez), the Internationally recognized Russian Oil Company Tatneft, the regional energy company Tatenergo, aircraft plants), in banks (including such widely known ones as Sberbank and Ak Bars Bank), in government bodies, trading and commerce, and so on. Many graduates now live and work in Moscow, St.-Petersburg, other cities of Russia, in the USA, Canada, Cuba, Germany, France, Israel and other countries.
External links
1. International Federation for Operation Research Societies (INFORS)
2. «Operation Research»in Wikipedia (history, personalities, books, links)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research
3. «Data Analysis» in Wikipedia (history, personalities, books, links)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_analysis
4. Yandex School of Data Analysis
5. Electronic courses (in LMS MOODLE) developed by the faculty of the Department (need registration)
http://edu.kpfu.ru/course/index.php?categoryid=436
6. Electronic educational resources developed by the faculty and students of the Department:
http://kek.kpfu.ru/kek2/os.php
