International Day Of Women in Statistics and Data Science: Full Schedule

Registration opens August 15th at www.idwsds.org.

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18:00 UTC

S408 - Bridging the Gap: How Practicing Data Scientists Use LLMs in the Wild and What It Means for Data Science Education

Tuesday October 6, 2026 18:00 - 18:30 UTC

Zoom Room #4

Since the widespread availability of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), fundamental questions have emerged about the future of coding in data science. Some predict that data scientists will no longer need traditional coding skills, while others question whether LLMs might replace data scientists entirely. However, these discussions have largely proceeded without empirical evidence of how practicing data scientists actually use these tools.

This study addresses this gap by surveying trained, practicing data scientists to understand if and how they integrate LLMs into their workflows, particularly for writing and editing code and performing other data science tasks. Building on our recent investigation of data science educators' perspectives on LLMs, this research examines real-world usage patterns among practitioners to bridge the gap between current practice and educational preparation.

Our findings will contribute to the data science community in two critical ways. First, by documenting how data scientists are actually working with LLMs four years after their initial release, we provide actionable insights that allow practitioners to learn and adopt effective strategies for integrating these tools into their work. Second, we inform data science education by evaluating whether current pedagogies adequately prepare students for this evolving landscape.

Speakers

Tiffany Timbers

University of British Columbia

Dr. Tiffany Timbers is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Statistics and Instructor in the Master of Data Science program at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience from UBC and completed postdoctoral research in behavioral and neural... Read More →

Organizers

Tiffany Timbers

University of British Columbia

Tuesday October 6, 2026 18:00 - 18:30 UTC
Zoom Room #4

Plenary Talk, Career or Professional Development Session

Country Canada
Session ID 408

International Day Of Women in Statistics and Data Science

18:00 UTC

Tiffany Timbers

Tiffany Timbers

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