The second decade of the present century has been marked by the growth of data science. The mixture of computing, statistical, and domain knowledge that represents data science has become an essential skill across all sectors of industry, academia, and government. Data science is also inherently multidisciplinary, being able to accommodate a diverse set of backgrounds operating in interdisciplinary teams to have the most impact. Two developments simultaneously took shape around the middle of the decade to catalyze data science research for undergraduates at UC Berkeley. Launched in 2014, the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS) was designed as a focal point on campus for data science research and software development. In 2015, to meet the growing demand for data science skills among its students, UC Berkeley launched Data 8, an introductory class on the Foundations of Data Science. With these two initiatives, the Data Science Discovery Program was piloted to allow UC Berkeley students coming out of Data 8 and other data science courses to make a real-world impact with partners across academia, industry, and government.

The challenges associated with delivering quality client care within healthcare systems and environments are characterised by increasing complexity and acuity in client needs, rising consumer (and public) expectations, and increasingly constrained human and financial resources, all of which are everyday realities for many nurses (Courtney et al. 2015). In this context, empowering nurses with the skills, attributes and confidence needed to have control and influence over their own practice is critical. This chapter makes explicit the notions of leadership and empowerment inherent in other chapters, with a particular emphasis on the responsibility we all have to advance the quality and excellence of nursing practice and also to be a voice for our profession and leaders in the changes and improvements necessary to promote optimal health outcomes for local and global communities (Grossman & Valiga 2021, Komives, Wagner, & Associates 2016). This chapter presents various perspectives on leadership and empowerment in nursing, and proposes some strategies and ideas for developing your own leadership potential.