Yumeng Ye was graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Master of Science in Information Quality(MSIQ) program in May 2019. During her studies, Yumeng was given an opportunity to work as a Data and Analytics Intern at Equifax in the Summer of 2018. After her graduation, Equifax offered her a full-time position as Data Scientist -Intermediate. Equifax is a global data, analytics, and technology company and as well one of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States. Equifax is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
In her position as a Data scientist, Yumeng works on large data sets while manipulating and integrating diverse data sources, data types, and data structures into solutions. Her team also conducts research to develop new predictive modeling techniques, and they perform data quality checks and test the new models to identify lift/value to current databases.
Yumeng was born in China where she lived in until she was graduated from high school. After high school she came to the United States to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics at the University of Minnesota – Twin cities where she was graduated in 2017. She then moved to UA Little Rock to pursue a Master of Science in Information Quality.
Yumeng heard about the UA Little Rock MSIQ program through a family member living in Little Rock. In her words,”Based on my past study and analytical project experiences, I realized the importance of data quality. Without good data quality, the rest of the analytical process is ineffective.” This was the reason she chose to enroll in the MSIQ program.
Her experience in the master’s program has enriched her work at Equifax by enabling her to apply data quality dimensions and conduct data quality assessments in her day-to-day duties. In her job, she applies the knowledge and skills acquired in the Information Quality program from courses such as IQ Tools, Entity Resolution, Principle of IQ, and Information Visualization.
Yumeng also stated “I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. John R. Talburt, the Information Quality Graduate Program Coordinator, for all his help both in my academic and career pursuit. He assisted me in building industry connections and access to job opportunities. It was a great honor to have joined his OYSTER research team where I had the opportunity to deep dive into learning and research into entity resolution and information quality”.
Her advice to current and prospective students,”Actively look for opportunities to pursue your academic or career goals. Try different things in order to gain more experience and building your network of connections is important”.
The Information Science Department at the University of Arkansas Little Rock offers graduate certificates in data science and information quality, and master’s and doctoral degrees in both information quality and information science. All programs are offered both online and on-campus. The master’s in informaiton quality and in information science were ranked 19th best in the nation by US News and World Report.
