Columbia University in the City of New York, in partnership with the City, announced the launch of the new Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering. The new institute within the school of engineering has been created to address the challenges of big data. The institute will initially focus on five key sectors: smart cities, new media, health analytics, financial analytics, and cybersecuirty.

The formation of the Institute shows that the discipline of data science is taking on new urgency at the highest levels of academia. Academic institutions are often slow to embrace emerging disciplines. Columbia only created its Computer Science Department in 1979. But the creation of the Institute by Columbia is an effort by the University to remain at the forefront of this exciting discipline.

The partnership with the City is part of a broader Applied Sciences NYC Initiative announced in 2010. The Columbia partnership, said mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is expected to generate some $4 billion in overall economic impact and create more than 4,500 jobs over the next three decades.

Under the agreement, the University will contribute $80 million in private investment and the City will provide $15 million in financial assistance. The agreement includes the creation of 44,000 square feet of new space on campus and the addition of 75 new faculty over the next decade.

References for this announcement include the Institute’s Web site and the Fall 2012 issue of Columbia Engineering Magazine.