Nurturing business analytics education

This fall the Department of Information Systems accepted a surprise gift – boxes of current best-selling books about data analytics -- donated by the Teradata University Network. Coincidentally, the new books arrived on campus at the same time as the first students in the new Master of Science in Data Analytics program.

This fall the Department of Information Systems accepted a surprise gift – boxes of current best-selling books about data analytics -- donated by the Teradata University Network. Coincidentally, the new books arrived on campus at the same time as the first students in the new Master of Science in Data Analytics program. Assistant Professor Zhan Michael Shi (photo) teaches in the program.

Teradata Corporation is a long-established provider of analytic data platforms, applications and services. The company formed Teradata University Network (TUN) 10 years ago to provide a free resource to universities that prepare students for careers in data management. Department of Information Systems faculty have been among the leaders in developing the organization. In fact department chairman Michael Goul served as the executive director and chair of a committee that established model undergraduate and graduate curriculum for business analytics content. TUN has been the main sponsor for global meetings of faculty interested in driving teaching and research in big data and analytics. Called the Business Intelligence Congress, the most recent conference investigated how organizations can drive innovation through big data analytics.

A companion survey addressing the state of analytics in academia is a benchmark for university program progress. “Noted analysts and authors are among BI Congress attendees,” said Goul. “In fact, many of the best-selling books donated to the department by TUN were written by BI Congress participants. As interest in big data and predictive analytics continues to grow, the seeds sown by TUN and the BI Congress are blossoming worldwide.”

Partnering on curriculum

Program Director Susan Baxley said the TUN story begins with “good Teradata customers” donating their retired systems to universities for educational purposes. But, she said, these programs are complex and require someone to run and maintain them – expenses that universities often can’t sustain. Understanding the importance of higher education in preparing future employees, the company stepped in and developed TUN to maintain the environment and databases needed to run effective classes - all in the cloud.

The result: access for professors and students to the latest technology, without the operating expense. TUN is “by faculty for faculty,” Baxley explains. A global academic board of directors helps set strategy and determine priorities for content development. TUN board members include several leading textbook authors, who use the Teradata University Network to share data sets for students to complete the exercises in their books. In addition to its academic partners, TUN has included software companies such as MicroStrategy, Tableau and SAS in the environment, broadening hands-on learning opportunities with the industry-strength software systems students will encounter after graduation. In the last three years, Teradata acquired two companies – one that specialized in integrated marketing management and the other in big data analytics.

At the same time, TUN began adding technology access and resources supporting the marketing and computer science fields. Hundreds of syllabi, case studies, teaching notes, assignments and other materials comprise the TUN offerings – most of them contributed by faculty members from around the world. The system requires faculty to register, then TUN provides the professor with a student password. Once set up, faculty may access the resources for assignments and other activities for their students. Some 3,400 professors from more than 1,600 universities in 96 countries are members of the network. At any given time 24 hours a day there are hundreds of students using the materials.

Standing out

Baxley says that the Teradata University Network is different from other corporate educational sites because it focuses on the field rather than on products. “The level of collaboration and the support of faculty is unique,” she said. After recently forming a customer advisory board, Teradata gained a better understanding of the hiring challenges companies face, Baxley said. In response, TUN is posting company profiles that help students understand the variety of career opportunities for students in data and analytics and what firms are looking for to build their capabilities. “For 10 years we’ve been supporting faculty and educating students,” she said. “Now we’re closing the loop with employers, providing a platform for students to connect with some of the world’s leading companies.”