Dr. Kirk Borne is a Principal Data Scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton. With a rich background in Astrophysics and Computational Science, he was a precursor on implementing courses of big data in academia. He is one of the most important promotors of data literacy in the world.

About Kirk and his view on data literacy and evolution 

On his first visit to Brussels, Kirk first activity was sharing his best practices to promote data literacy. While enjoying a magnificent  view of Brussels from the ING headquarter building, Kirk playfully (with a pair of socks!) explained how subjectivity plays a major role in the way that data is understood, derived by the wide variety of involved. This keynote was delivered at the speakers reception, which took place the day before the DI Summit.

The following day, Kirk wrapped up the DI summit with his closing keynote on how data has shifted into something that is sense-making, following the evolution from “data” to “big data” into “smart data” composed by both enriched and semantic data and essential for IoT. He also discussed the levels of maturity in a  self-driving enterprise, wrapping up his participation sharing this equation:

Big Data + IoT + Citizen Data Scientists = Partners in Sustainability

Kirk’s impression on the DI Summit was that it was a fun and informative event to join. His favorite format were the 5” pitches, as they were properly structured, providing the most critical information to the attendees. He also think that the networking dynamic ensured that all attendees met interesting people.

A takeaway from Kirk’s presentation

“Big data is not about how big it is, but the value you extract from it”

We look forward to have Kirk sometime soon back in Brussels!

Kirk’s introduction to his DISUMMIT keynote:

Filip’s presentation recording:

To be published soon

Kirk’s presentation deck:

Kirk’s presentation sketch: