Unit 1: Introduction to Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning 

• Overview of predictive analytics and its importance

• Basic concepts of machine learning: Supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning

• Data preprocessing and feature engineering

• Introduction to Python libraries for machine learning: scikit-learn, pandas, numpy

• Case studies of predictive analytics applications

Unit 2: Regression and Classification Techniques 

• Linear regression and logistic regression

• Decision trees and random forests

• Support vector machines (SVM)

• k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN)

• Model evaluation metrics: Accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, ROC-AUC

Unit 3: Ensemble Methods and Model Optimization 

• Bagging and boosting techniques: AdaBoost, Gradient Boosting, XGBoost

• Hyperparameter tuning and model selection

• Cross-validation and grid search

• Feature selection and dimensionality reduction

• Practical implementation using Python

Unit 4: Advanced Machine Learning Techniques 

• Neural networks and deep learning basics

• Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs)

• Time series forecasting and analysis

• Anomaly detection and outlier analysis

• Practical implementation using TensorFlow and Keras

Unit 5: Applications and Future Directions 

• Predictive analytics in finance, healthcare, and marketing

• Ethical considerations and bias in predictive models

• Explainability and interpretability of machine learning models

• Emerging trends and research directions in predictive analytics

• Sustainability and environmental impact of machine learning