DataScientest

 DataScientest is a school I met during some job dating sessions. Seduced by the very human and professional character of the team during the coaching sessions, and having seen that their Data Scientist program matched my expectations to develop skills in this position in a company, I decided to do their bootcamp of September 2020. The quality of the course content, the different cases studied during the master classes and exams, the follow-up and the availability of the teaching team have confirmed my initial enthusiasm for DataScientest. I highly recommend! 

Course Attended: Machine Learning and MLOps Course

Pro:
1. Certification from University Pantheon Sorbonne
The course provides a certificate from the prestigious University Pantheon Sorbonne, offering a valuable credential for career growth. This is a major attraction for prospective students.

2. Flexible Learning Structure
The online format, combined with self-paced study materials, allows for flexibility—ideal for individuals managing multiple responsibilities.

3. Networking Opportunities
The course encourages professional networking, offering tips to help students connect with others in the fields of machine learning and MLOps. The shared learning environment fosters valuable professional relationships.

4. Constructive Exam Feedback
The course includes shared exam corrections, which provide insights into common mistakes and alternative approaches, enhancing the learning experience.

5. Includes a comprehensive practical project at the end, allowing students to apply their learning in a real-world, hands-on context.

Cons:
1. Course Content and Quality
- Localization Issues: The course materials frequently contain typos, grammatical errors, and poorly translated sections. Some content appears to be direct translations from French, which sometimes include untranslated French text, making comprehension difficult for non-French speakers.
- Incomplete Curriculum: Critical topics, like the Central Limit Theorem in statistics, are missing from the curriculum. Such gaps leave students without essential foundational knowledge.
- Limited Practice Opportunities: There is a lack of preparatory exercises for exams, which limits the ability of students to properly practice and feel prepared.
- Inconsistent Language Delivery: Despite requesting English versions of course materials twice, some lectures and notes were still delivered in French. This inconsistency in language delivery demonstrates poor responsiveness and engagement.
- Poor English Proficiency: Some instructors have limited proficiency in English, making their explanations unclear and hard to follow.

2. Exam Structure and Support
- Short Exam Durations: Exam times are unrealistically brief, which prevents students from adequately demonstrating their knowledge.
- Generic Feedback: Feedback after exams is vague and lacks actionable details, hindering students from clearly identifying areas for improvement.
- No Exam Preparation Resources: The absence of targeted preparatory exercises adds unnecessary difficulty to the exam process. Students are allowed to take the exam multiple times, enabling them to access the questions online, review them after an initial failed attempt, and then retake the exam with prior knowledge of the questions. This practice, known and even encouraged by the instructors, significantly undermines the integrity and effectiveness of the evaluation process. 

3. Scheduling and Timing Issues
- Frequent Delays: Important meetings, including introductory sessions, often start 5-10 minutes late, which suggests poor time management and professionalism.
- Inconvenient Timings: Some live sessions are scheduled late in the evening, sometimes extending until 7:30 PM, which can be challenging for students with other commitments.

4. Technical and Administrative Shortcomings
- Technical Disruptions: Frequent technical issues disrupt the learning process, reducing the overall value of the course.
- Low-Quality Certificates: Intermediate certificates are poorly formatted, with overlapping text and QR codes, making them appear unprofessional and diminishing their value.

5. Pricing and Transparency Concerns
Pricing Discrepancies: Applicants using Germany's Bildungsgutschein are charged approximately €4,000 more than other students. This difference is attributed to supposed "extras" that do not justify the cost.

Questionable Extras:
- Extended Platform Access: Marketed as a benefit, but this should be standard for a course costing €13,500.
- AWS Course Access: The AWS courses included are publicly available for free, adding no real additional value.
- Integrity Concerns: The inflated pricing and lack of transparency raise serious questions about the program's integrity, especially given the marginal value of the supposed "extras."
- Ignored Price Adjustment Requests: Despite requesting a price adjustment to meet the €10,000 limit set by Agentur für Arbeit, the provider was unwilling to accommodate. The insistence on maintaining inflated pricing for superficial "benefits" like extended platform access and free AWS courses reflects a disregard for students' needs.