Max amount of FITech students: 15
Persons without a valid study right at a Finnish university or university of applied sciences have preference to this course.
In today’s data-centric world, organisations depend on powerful and flexible data architectures to turn information into insight. This course offers a deep dive into the principles and technologies that underpin modern data-driven systems, from the design of data pipelines to the integration of data lakes, data warehouses, and emerging lakehouse architectures. Students will explore how data is stored, processed, and governed across these systems, and how metadata management and data governance ensure reliability, scalability, and trust in enterprise data solutions.
Through a combination of theory and hands-on practice with tools such as Apache Spark and Databricks, students will gain the skills to design, implement, and optimise data architectures that meet the performance and cost requirements of modern, data-driven organisations.
Course contents
The course explores the architecture and implementation of data-driven computing architectures. Topics include the evolution of database technologies, SQL vs. NoSQL, time series databases, and the difference between data lakes, data warehouses, and data lakehouses. Students will engage in hands-on exercises using relevant technologies such as Apache Spark and Databricks to build data pipelines. The course also covers metadata management and governance in maintaining robust and scalable databases.
Learning outcomes
After the course, the students are able to
- design and implement data pipelines using relevant technologies
- differentiate between data lakes, data warehouses, and data lakehouse systems
- apply principles of metadata management and governance in data lakehouses
- integrate various data storage and processing frameworks to build scalable and cost-effective data solutions that meet the demands of data-driven organisations.
Course material
All course material on Moodle.
Teaching schedule
Lectures and seminars on Campus in Vasa will be streamed. For a detailed schedule see the study guide.
Completion methods
The course consists of lectures, guest lectures, assignments, and exercises, individually and in groups. The final grade is determined by the evaluation of submitted assignments, quizzes, practical projects, and exams.
More information in the Åbo Akademi study guide.
You can get a digital badge after completing this course.