"R is not just a programming language; it's a powerful tool that turns data into insights, empowering us to make informed decisions and tell compelling stories through data."

"As an independent analyst within the Financial Stability Department, I frequently encounter large datasets that need to be analyzed and interpreted in ways that inform critical decision-making—from assessing systemic risks to understanding economic trends. Therefore, I was interested in improving my efficiency in performing complex data manipulations and visualizations and attended this course on Data Science Using R, both for my personal development and for my role within the department. Looking back, my expectations were largely met, as the course provided a good balance of theory and practical exercises, as well as a solid foundation in both R programming and its application.

The course significantly enhanced my skills in data manipulation and exploratory data analysis through practical, hands-on exercises. By focusing on dplyr for data manipulation, I gained proficiency in multiple ways to import, transform, and summarize data. These tools allowed me to streamline the process of preparing data for further analysis. When it came to exploratory data analysis, I was introduced to various techniques for investigating and understanding the structure of data. Overall, I now feel more confident in preparing data for analysis, visualizing key trends, and drawing insights from the data.

Working on the group project and developing an interactive Shiny application was an incredibly valuable part of my learning experience. I was amazed by how Shiny allowed us to create dynamic, interactive visualizations that made data not only more accessible but also more engaging for users. It was fascinating to see how we could integrate different elements—such as plots, tables, and filters—all in a single application, allowing for much deeper exploration of the data in real time. With Shiny, we were able to build a tool that enabled non-technical users to interact with the data and visualize it in ways that would have been difficult to convey through static reports. Developing the Shiny app not only boosted my technical skills but also highlighted the importance of clear and engaging communication in data science. It was remarkable to see how the application could enhance decision-making by making the data more intuitive and accessible.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the lecturers for their exceptional ability to explain complex technical concepts in R in an easy-to-understand way. Their teaching methods were clear, structured, and incredibly effective. Therefore, I highly recommend this workshop to my colleagues in the Financial Stability Department, as it offers valuable tools that can significantly speed up our work and enhance the quality of our reports. By mastering tools like dplyr and Shiny, we can streamline data processing and create interactive, dynamic reports that not only save time but also make our findings more accessible and easier to interpret—for both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Overall, I believe this workshop would be a great asset to anyone looking to improve their data analysis and reporting efficiency."