The organisation is leading the project in partnership with the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, the Operational Research Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the National Physical Laboratory, the Royal Society and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

The aim is to develop industry-wide standards for data science, starting with existing academic qualifications.

It follows the publication of a 2019 report from the Royal Society, recommending that data science should be developed as a profession.

Stian Westlake, chief executive, the Royal Statistical Society (pictured), said: “You wouldn’t let a doctor perform heart surgery or an architect design your house without being confident they were working to the highest standards. We believe that people who deal with our data should follow equally high standards – and gain recognition for doing so. 

“Today’s move is an important step to professionalising the field and helping us harness data for the public good.”