Review of the first WiDS TOKYO@YCUOn March 22, 2019, the inaugural WiDS TOKYO@YCU was held in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Participants active in the field of data
science gathered for a day of lectures, discussion, and contest. The following is a summary of the symposium.

Part1
Lectures by female leaders who are active in thefield of data science

About WiDS TOKYO@YCUThe Women in Data Science (WiDS)
initiative aims to inspire and educate
data scientists worldwide, regardlessof gender, and to support women inthe field. WiDS is administered bythe Institute for Computational &Mathematical Engineering, StanfordUniversity, USA. The WiDS conference, associated events, and data
challenges are all aimed at nurturing
human resources in the field of datascience.

Part2Idea Challenge 2019at WiDS TOKYO @ YCU

for Society 5.0 and a data-driven future.

Human resource development in industry, government, and academia.
Japan's big data/analytics (BDA)
software market is expected to reach\380 billion by 2022, according toIDC Japan.
However, there is a considerable
shortage of data science personnel
in this growing market. It is predicted that data science related vacancies, handled by major companies
could increase by 6 folds (DODAsurvey).
To address the growing demand fordata scientists, there has been an
increase in the number of universities and training organizations
providing specialized courses.

Comments from participants and questionnaire
results
It was better than any other data
science conference I've attended.
I feel that the organizational trends
and individual contribution in the fieldof data science were presented
without being overly technical. (Malein 30s)
It was an opportunity to reconsider
what data science is. (Female in 30s)

Nurturing the next generation of leadersSince 2015, there have been approximately 150+ regional WiDS eventsworldwide. Japan Yokohama CityUniversity YCU) held its first event,
WiDS Tokyo@YCU, on 22nd March
2019 with the cooperation ofuniversities, industry players andpublic sector participants.

participation and representation,and SDGs (Sustainable developmentGoals) and data science” were themain topics up for discussion.

Additionally, even within the traditional faculties, be it humanities orengineering, there are data
science-focused courses on offer.
Furthermore, there has also been apublic sector movement to developinterest and expertize in data sciencethrough the “Data Scientist Development Project for Realizing Society
5.0” by Ministry of Education,Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and “Data Science
Online Course” by Ministry ofInternal Affairs and Communications.
Educational programs provided byprivate sector organizations are also
gaining momentum.

However, acquiring skills in this field
is said to have many barriers.
One of the biggest barriers is theperceived weakness in science or
technological literacy and fear ofprogramming.
Many of the data science-related
courses are expensive and are noteasy to learn.
For women, in particular, learning
opportunities may be limited due tolife-cycle effects.

Ms. Sonoko Watanabe, Deputy
Director-General of MEXT gave alecture on the “Development of Data
Science Human Resources andGender Diversity for the future.”
Prof. Michiko Watanabe, a professor
at the Graduate School of HealthManagement at Keio University,
talked about data science education,
especially Japanese educational
reforms that strengthen datautilization.

Given the high demand for data
science personnel, the different
avenues available for gaining thenecessary skills have also increased.
Source : IDC JAPANGrowing needs for data sciencetalent for our future.

Yoko Ono, Associate Professor,
Department of Data Science,
Yokohama City University, WiDS
Ambassador opened the symposium
and stated "this year is the first for
WiDS in Japan. I want to conduct
WiDS Tokyo@YCU activities in Japan
based on the following three pillars.
That is: to inspire and to educate
many people who want to become
data scientists. And to support
them."As a corporate use case, Cyber
Agent's Mayumi Kousaka presented
on “Data Utilization in Human
Resources - Data Science for Human
Resources Management.”
Ms.Kikuko Shirakawa, Executive
Officer of NTT DoCoMo, gave alecture on “History of Data Utilization
at DOCOMO- Let’s make full use ofAI.”Ambassador Ono became a facilitator of the Panel Discussion. “What isdata science, how can we increase.

I was able to listen to data scientists
from various industries, including
students, and was greatly stimulated.
I felt the possibility of the future.
(Male in 30s)
The second part of the symposium
was dedicated to “Idea Challenge
2019 WiDS TOKYO @ YCU”. The
finalists in the 'student' and 'generalentry' category presented theiranalysis and the grand winner wasselected in each category.
"New work styles" was the theme of
the first Idea Challenge. Six entries,
three from each 'student' and'general entry' proceeded to the final
screening at the WiDs symposium.
The grand winner of the 'student'
category was an all-female teamfrom the School of Data Science at
Yokohama City University.

I want to shine like the people who
took the stage at the symposium.
(Teenage female)

Ｎ＝２２５MaleFemale

Participant questionnaire
Would you like to participate in WiDS Tokyo @ Yokohama
City University again?
I think so

Kind ofNeither Agree Nor Disagree

I don't think soI got a good understanding of what data science is.
I think so

Kind of

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

I want to work in data science in the future.

The presentation was titled“37,420,000 Pattern – New Working
Styles for the New Era.” They useddata to analyze the current work-lifebalance situation in japan andproposed solutions to address theimbalance.
The grand winner of the 'general'
category was a team from ANA
Trading Company. The presentation
was on "Efficient Use of Toilets –Using Toilet Usage Data to Promote
Workplace Reforms". The uniqueness of data used and recommendations made it stand out from therest.

I think so

Kind of

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

I don't think so

I was interested in the work of data scientists.
I think so

Kind of

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

I don't think so