Soochow University has long attached great importance to the cultivation of talents in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. With the rapid development of big data, generative AI, and smart application technologies, the industry's demand for professionals equipped with data analytics, information technology, AI application, and cross-disciplinary integration capabilities increases day by day. In response to global digital transformation and AI development trends, the university actively promotes teaching and research related to data science, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, aiming to cultivate a new generation of talents possessing theoretical foundations, practical abilities, innovative thinking, and cross-disciplinary literacy.

In the 2012 academic year, the university forward-lookingly grasped the development trends of data science and big data, collaborating across departments to establish the nation's very first "Big Data Analytics Research Center" to actively promote the research and development of data analytics techniques, industry-academia collaboration, and the cultivation of cross-disciplinary talents. Subsequently, the "Big Data Analytics Credit Program" was established, integrating resources from relevant departments such as the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Information Management, and the Department of Financial Engineering and Actuarial Mathematics, while combining courses from natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and business management to strengthen students' capabilities in cross-disciplinary data analytics, AI application, and problem-solving.

In the 2015 academic year, the "School of Big Data Management" was established as the nation's first professional college centered on Big Data and data science, offering a Bachelor’s Degree Program and a Master’s In-Service Degree Program. Following this, a Master’s Degree Program and a Post-Baccalaureate Bachelor’s Degree Program in Big Data Analytics were added in the 2017 academic year to continuously expand diverse talent cultivation mechanisms and deepen teaching energy in data science, artificial intelligence, and cross-disciplinary applications. In the 2018 academic year, in response to adjustments in higher education and cross-disciplinary talent cultivation policies, the "Post-Baccalaureate Multi-Disciplinary Competence Program in Big Data Analytics" was set up, providing opportunities for cross-disciplinary advanced studies and second-expertise cultivation to meet talent demands in the eras of the digital economy and smart industries. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and generative AI technologies, the school continues to drive curriculum and organizational transformation.

On August 24, 2020, the Ministry of Education approved the transformation of the school’s degree programs into the "Department of Data Science" starting from the 2021 academic year, recruiting students for the Undergraduate Program, Master's Program, and Master's In-Service Program. The department continuously deepens its teaching and research energy in artificial intelligence, generative AI, data science, digital applications, and cross-disciplinary integration, dedicating itself to cultivating data science professionals with an international vision, practical abilities, and innovative application capabilities.