Review of applications for the MSA Class of 2011 begins this month. It is not too late to apply for admission. The MSA is the nation’s first full-fledged graduate degree in Analytics. It is a uniquely designed cohort program that blends elements of applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, and various business disciplines into an integrated 10-month curriculum. The customized courses have a strong practical focus on the tools, methods and application of advanced analytics. Students work extensively in teams throughout the program. Students are admitted with a wide variety of academic backgrounds and professional experience. Admission is competitive given the limited number of seats. Prospective students are encouraged to apply early.
Students Gain Career Insights
A panel of six members of the Triangle Technology Executives Council (TTEC) held a wide-ranging discussion with MSA students today focused on professional career development. Panelists include TTEC President and CEO John Crites, as well as members Tony Verdone, vice president of development and operations at MediClick; Sid Mitchener, partner at Vaco Raleigh LLC; Chuck Musciano, CIO of Martin Marietta Materials; and Craig Stone, CEO of HireNetworks. The discussion was moderated by TTEC member Susan Kellogg, CIO and associate dean of IT at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. The Institute is grateful to the panelists for sharing their knowledge, and to TTEC’s Chuck Piccirillo, who organized the event. Continue reading “Students Gain Career Insights”
MSA Team takes Championship
MSA students have proven themselves as superb team players on the field as they are in the classroom. A team of MSA students have won the flag football championship in the graduate student, faculty and staff division for Fall of 2009. The team balanced rigorous MSA studies with practice scrimmages and exhilarating flag football games throughout the Fall to arrive at the exciting championship game in November. The winning season culminated in a triumphant 38-21 victory in the championship game. (Pictured from left to right: Dan Bock, Geoff Lewis, Paul Christian, Steven Somers, Scott Burks, Kelly Andrus, Jesse Behrens, Jason Leone, and Marco Mascioli. Teammate Richie Couchon not pictured.)
Holiday Food Drive Sets Record
Thanks to the many students, staff and faculty who participated in the Institute’s annual holiday food drive to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Student organizers this year included Deborah Nicholas, Marco Mascioli, Amy Drew and Charlie Board. The record setting donation totaled 339 pounds of food (up by 73%) and $545 (up by 40%). Using the Food Bank’s formula, the donation translates into 2601 meals. The students have set a high bar for next year’s MSA Class of 2011.
MSA Student Named SAS Ambassador
Farhad Islam (MSA candidate, Class of 2010) has been named a SAS Student Ambassador for 2010. The SAS Student Ambassador Program is a competitive program that recognizes and supports students who use SAS technologies in innovative ways that benefit their respective industries and fields of study. Farhad is one of a small number of students selected for the honor from a global pool of candidates. He will present his award-winning paper entitled “SAS Analytics for Green Energy Solution in Smart Electric Grid System” at the SAS Global Forum next April in Seattle. Farhad is the second MSA student in three years to be named a SAS Ambassador. Our previous winner was Petr Hústak (MSA Class of 2008).
Leedom Tapped for Leadership Program
Bank of America has selected MSA student Robert Leedom for its prestigious Quantitative Management Associate Program (QMAP). The program is designed to prepare future business leaders of BoA who are grounded with quantitative skills and experiences. It is highly selective, with only a small number of candidates from the nation’s leading universities entering the QMAP program each year. Several of the bank’s top leaders in quantitative areas are alumni of the program.
Executive Guest Lecture – Agus Sudjianto
The Institute is delighted to announce that Dr. Agus Sudjianto, senior vice president and head of Quantitative Risk at Bank of America will deliver our fifth Executive Guest Lecture of 2009 on November 30. Dr. Sudjianto’s talk is titled “Quantitative Risk Management at Bank of America.” Bank of America is one of the world’s largest Continue reading “Executive Guest Lecture – Agus Sudjianto”
Executive Guest Lecture – Tim Gabel
We are delighted to announce that Tim Gabel, vice president for Survey and Computing Sciences at RTI International will deliver our fourth Executive Guest Lecture of 2009 on November 13. Mr. Gabel’s talk, titled “The Data-driven Decision Maker,” will examine the challenge facing business today in solving complex problems with a vast amount of data. The Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous support of SAS as sponsor of the guest lecture series. Continue reading “Executive Guest Lecture – Tim Gabel”
Internet Summit to focus on Analytics
Dr. Michael Rappa will moderate a panel discussion on Analytics at the 2nd Annual Internet Summit to be held on November 4-5 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The Summit is a showcase for forward thinking and thought leadership on topics related to the Internet economy and Web-oriented technologies such as social media, real-time, cloud, online advertising, search, blogs, mobile, e-commerce, usability, video, design and other best practices. Continue reading “Internet Summit to focus on Analytics”
Practicum Projects Announced
The Analytics Practicum is a core component of the MSA curriculum that gives students an opportunity to work in teams on challenging projects with real-world data sponsored by industry. The Institute is pleased to announce our project sponsors for 2009-10 include: Continue reading “Practicum Projects Announced”