A stream of new data science technologies is changing what business do and how they operate. The new ABS professor explores how businesses use big data, analytics and AI to be more effective. But data science is also changing the roles allocated to people and machines and it is making new business models possible. Finally, AI and big data create challenges and risks that require regulation and good governance. While these questions are relevant for the corporate sector, they are also important in the healthcare industry.

Teaching

De Mast teaches courses in which students learn to structure and analytically solve complex problems using statistics, machine learning and business analytics. According to the new ABS professor, these are essential skills. ‘Every 5 years the World Economic Forum compiles a list identifying what current and future generations need to be successful professionals. Analytical skills and an ability to solve complex problems are high on the list.’

ABS dean Marc Salomon: ‘We’re very happy that Jeroen will returning to the ABS to work with us. He’s not only an expert when it comes to developing data science techniques for operations management. He also knows what conditions are needed to successfully implement these techniques in practice.’

About Jeroen de Mast

De Mast received his master’s in mathematics at Leiden University in 1997 and obtained his doctorate in industrial statistics at the UvA in 2002. From 1998 to 2015 he worked as a consultant and researcher at IBIS UvA, and he was professor of Operations Management at the Amsterdam Business School from 2011. Between 2017 and 2022 he was professor of Statistics at the University of Waterloo in Canada.