Michael Rappa

Director Speaks at Big Data Symposium

The Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa, spoke about educating data scientists at the National Research Council (NRC) Symposium on Digital Curation in the Era of Big Data, held today in Washington, DC. The NRC Board on Research Data and Information is conducting a consensus study to understand the trends in workforce needs and educational requirements for careers in the active management and enhancement of digital information assets for current and future use. The study is sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Science Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Jones Receives Fellowship

Congratulations to Molly Jones, Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2013, who has been awarded the Steve and Jane Warren-Wolfpack Club Graduate Fellowship. Funded through an endowment established by Steve and Jane Warren and the NC State University Wolfpack Club, the Fellowship is a prestigious one-year award offered to the top graduate student at NC State who played a varsity sport as an undergraduate. Jones is a 2010 honors graduate of UNC–Chapel Hill, where she majored in Biostatistics and minored in Mathematics. She was a member of the UNC Varsity Crew Rowing Team.

MSA Class of 2013

Institute Welcomes Class of 2013

Today the Institute welcomes to campus 84 candidates in the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2013, the sixth cohort to enter its innovative 10-month program. Commenting on the occasion, the Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa, said “The Class of 2013 represents a significant milestone in the evolution of the Institute and its MSA program. As the first and largest program of its kind, the preeminence Continue reading “Institute Welcomes Class of 2013”

Michael Rappa

Director Named to Big Data Commission

The Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa, has been named Academic Co-chair of a newly convened Big Data Commission by the technology industry trade group TechAmerica Foundation in Washington DC. The Commission has been tasked with making recommendations on how to handle the mountains of data that are being generated by various agencies of the federal government. The Administration Continue reading “Director Named to Big Data Commission”

Practicum Call for Proposals

The Institute for Advanced Analytics invites interested organizations to submit a proposal to sponsor a student team project for the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Practicum. Sponsors identify challenging business problems and share data for their team to analyze. The Institute can accept up to sixteen proposals this year. The proposal submission period is open now through July 31. To learn more about how to submit a proposal, please read the guidelines for Practicum Sponsorship. If you have questions, or would like to discuss a proposal in advance of submission, please feel welcome to contact the Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa.

2012 Director’s Prize Awarded

Patrick Hall and Scott Sims share this year’s Director’s Prize as the top graduates in the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2012. Hall and Sims receive the prize in recognition by their peers of their superior performance throughout the 10-month program. Commenting on the winners, the Institute’s director, Michael Rappa, stated “Patrick and Scott are two individuals with exceptional leadership qualities who earned high praise from their peers Continue reading “2012 Director’s Prize Awarded”

MSA Commencement Ceremony

The Institute for Advanced Analytics held its annual commencement exercise for the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2012. Diplomas were awarded to thirty-eight degree candidates. The Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa, presided over the ceremony, held at the Raleigh Convention Center, and was joined by members of the faculty and staff and over two-hundred guests. It was the Institute’s fifth commencement exercise Continue reading “MSA Commencement Ceremony”

Job Placement Tops 90%

The Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2012 heads to commencement this week with a bright future. Highly capable analytics professionals ready to tackle the challenges of big data, they are in high demand in virtually every sector of the economy. Employer demand for MSA candidates set new records on virtually every key performance indicator. Notably, the Class of 2012 became the fifth consecutive cohort since the Institute’s inception in 2007 to attain over 90-percent job placement by graduation. Candidates in 2012 also logged more interviews, more job offers, and higher starting salaries and bonuses than each of the previous four graduating classes. Continue reading “Job Placement Tops 90%”

MSA Students Earn Predictive Modeling Certificate

The Institute is delighted to report that 29 candidates (76%) of the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2012 successfully earned the SAS Predictive Modeling certificate. Industry standard software tools are an integral part of the MSA learning experience and used extensively by students in their day-to-day work with big data. The Institute’s partnership with the industry leader in business analytics, SAS, provides MSA students Continue reading “MSA Students Earn Predictive Modeling Certificate”

Teams Present Practicum Projects

Eight student teams are wrapping up their analytics practicum projects with final presentations to their sponsors this week—including one team that will travel to eBay headquarters in San Jose, California to present its findings. The Practicum is a core component of the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) curriculum that gives students an opportunity to work with large, complex data sets provided by sponsoring organizations. Practicum projects apply advanced data modeling techniques to wide ranging business problems, from improving customer acquisition, loyalty and retention, to managing high volumes of unstructured customer feedback and dispute resolution data, to predictive models for guiding investment strategies in volatile financial markets. In addition to eBay, other project sponsors included: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Elder Research, M&T Bank, Marriott, Quaero, Siemens, and The Daniel Group.

NSA Science of Security ‘Lablet’ Established

North Carolina State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Carnegie Mellon University are each receiving an initial $2.5 million in grant funds from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to stimulate the creation of a more scientific basis for the design and analysis of trusted systems. The co-principal investigators for the NC State Science of Security Lablet are Dr. Laurie Williams, professor of computer science, and Dr. Michael Rappa, director of the Institute of Advanced Analytics and professor of computer science. Continue reading “NSA Science of Security ‘Lablet’ Established”

Institute’s Expansion Begins

A lease has been signed for an additional 6,500 square feet of physical space on the fourth floor of the Venture 2 Building, located directly beneath the Institute’s current facility on Centennial Campus. Construction begins this week to build a classroom, offices and student workspaces to accommodate the Institute’s growth in enrollment in the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) degree program to 80 students beginning in June. The new expansion will increase the total space occupied by the Institute to 14,500 square feet. The Institute is extremely grateful to the managing contractor Craig Davis Properties, for all of its efforts to keep the expansion schedule on track.

Director interviewed by Forbes

What is a Data Scientist? That was the question put to the Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa, in a recent interview with Forbes contributing writer, Dan Woods. Data science has emerged as the latest way to describe the ongoing quest to master the skill of drawing insights from vast quantities and varieties of data—sometimes called “big data”—which is core to the mission of the Institute. The interview with Dr. Rappa is the latest in a Forbes series on the subject with the country’s leading thinkers and practitioners in data science.

Michael Rappa

Director Gives Invited Talk at GWU

The century-old mainstay of business education may be showing its age, says the Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa. In the following presentation based on a talk delivered at George Washington University School of Business, Dr. Rappa makes the case for why the generic MBA degree may be out of sync with the skill sets needed to compete in a rapidly changing business world. Contrasting the recent demise of Kodak, Continue reading “Director Gives Invited Talk at GWU”