The Applied Statistics & Informatics (ASI) program is run by the Department of Mathematics, IIT Mumbai. It is a two-year, interdisciplinary program leading to a Master of Science degree. Recent batches have seen students from top notch colleges, with their undergraduate studies primarily in Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science.
The course primarily aims to train students with a strong mathematical/Statistical background, in the fields of Computer Science, Industrial Mathematics and Applied Statistics. Over a period of two years, they concentrate on learning methods to solve real world problems. Armed with mathematical reasoning and statistical analysis along with programming skills, students go on to work in the industry, where the need for these methods is felt. In a nut shell, the course is structured to meet the demands of the industry.
In addition to regular course work, each student takes up a year-long project under the guidance of a faculty member with many short term projects/case studies incorporated into the course structure which further enhance the analytical abilities of the students.
ASI students are made proficient in C, C++, JAVA and SQL as well as statistical and mathematical packages like SAS and MATLAB. They also possess a working knowledge of HTML, Java script, MS Office and Latex.
The two year M.Sc. Mathematics programme offers an exciting opportunity to students who are interested in Mathematics and/or Statistics and who wish to pursue careers in teaching, research and industry.
Courses are a strong mix of foundations in Mathematics (Analysis, Algebra, Topology), application of Mathematics (Numerical Analysis, Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations), and Financial Mathematics. The rigours of mathematical proofs help students formalize intuitions about the real world and develop an analytical way of thinking. A programming course in C++ helps students see some of the theory in action where complicated real world problems are converted into Mathematical models and solved with the aid of computer programs. In addition to regular course work, each student takes up a year-long project under the guidance of a faculty member, which gives students a taste of rigours of research in a variety of fields. By investigating a specific topic outside their programme and surveying the available literature on it, which is presented in the form of a report, students are able to develop critical explorative and reasoning abilities. This provides an initiation into mathematical research and also equips the student with the necessary skills in presentation of research/technical literature.