Now more than ever, business and technology leaders are called upon to manage, analyze and interpret big data. Large amounts of information are generated every day by business, government and other organizations. The ability to understand analytics to truly harness the power of information and drive evidence-based decisions-making is essential in today’s business world.

That’s why Dalhousie’s Rowe School of Business is committed to giving students analytics-focused experiential learning opportunities. These students hone their knowledge in analytics by taking part in major, international competitions, often taking the top spots among hundreds of international teams.

For the win

In 2017, the Corporate Residency MBA team won the grand final of the IBM Watson Analytics Global Competition (WAGC). They competed against 210 teams from 7 countries. Students in Michael Bliemel’s Business Analytics and Data Visualization Class used the IBM Watson Analytics tool to create visualizations, build a dashboard and conduct predictive and social media analysis on an environmental issue, submitting a video based on their findings.

The two finalist teams were announced in May, and the Dal team then travelled to Malaysia to present their work in person during the 5th International Big Data and Analytics Educational Conference in Langkawi, taking home the win. Last year, a Dal CRMBA team came in second.

Dr. Bliemel was the students’ coach and advisor. He is also professor of management information systems and coordinator of the SAP Universities Alliances initiative at the Rowe School of Business. He says the students make a strong impression on industry members when they travel to compete in these and other business and technology competitions.

“Students work very hard in class on topics they are passionate about, and the results speak for themselves. We’re thrilled the students won worldwide champion this year at the IBM WAGC competition, after getting first runner up last year,” he says.

“Competitions like these allow our students to get amazing networking and brand-building opportunities,” he continues. “These conferences allow us to demonstrate that our students and programs are among the world’s best.”

Experience pays off

MBA student Saleem Tawakol and his teammates were named second place winners at IBM’s international Watson Analytics Global Competion (WAGC) in Las Vegas in 2016. Tawakol says the team was proud to represent Dalhousie at the event, which had a huge impact on him and his fellow students. He is now working at IBM in Toronto.

“Taking part allowed us to meet with some of the brightest minds in the technology field,” Tawakol says. “It was great to network with IBM executives and affiliates, and the other finalist teams.”

If you are interested in enabling Rowe School of Business students to take part in international analytics competitions, please make a gift.