Preparing students for jobs in business analytics and data science

JMSB’s new partnerships and programs making an immediate impact

June 12, 2018

By Yuri Mytko

Denis Marchildon, director of SAS Quebec, Daniela Petrachi and Krzysztof Dzieciolowski

JMSB student Daniela Petrachi receives her certificate from Denis Marchildon, director of SAS Quebec and Krzysztof Dzieciolowski, part-time JMSB professor.

Daniela Petrachi may only be graduating from Concordia this week, but she already has a job. She credits a certification in business analytics for her employment.

Last week, Petrachi and 39 other students from the John Molson School of Business received the JMSB-SAS Joint Certification in Business Analytics.

Krzysztof Dzieciolowski, a part-time professor in the Department of Supply Chain and Business Technology Management, helped develop the program by championing the creation of a partnership between JMSB and SAS, the world’s leading analytical software company. The program was launched in the spring of 2016 and is the only such undergraduate program in Quebec.

“There has been a shortage of analytical talent in Canada and it is increasingly difficult to recruit, train and retain analytics professionals in the dynamic growing field of data mining and big data,” says Dzieciolowski. “This partnership helps bridge the gap.”

Dzieciolowski says the certification has attracted enormous interest from students and has boosted enrolment in the school’s Business Technology Management (BTM) program. “There is an exploding demand for analytical talent,” he says. “and the certification is opening doors to many career opportunities.”

Petrachi, who is working as a data engineer and consultant at CGI says she is already putting her SAS skills to use.

“I am required to use SAS on the job. The close partnership between SAS and JMSB allowed me to learn the statistical software as part of my bachelor degree, making me a more attractive candidate in the work force.”

Petrachi hopes to one day become a lead data scientist in the advanced analytics department.

Hands-on BTM analysis

Another group of Concordia BTM students were recognized for their business analysis skills as they took home third-place in the National Business Technology Management (BTM) Student Competition. The competition, organized by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and IT World Canada challenged third and fourth-year BTM students to provide an analysis in response to a business problem outlined in a case study. Undergraduates Patrizio Di Iorio, Paolo Gargano, Taras Lesiuk-Pokynboroda, Olivia Ratnasingam and Stephanie Schenk made up the JMSB team.

New graduate certificate

Undergraduate students are not the only ones to benefit from JMSB’s focus on business analytics. Earlier this year, JMSB launched the new Graduate Certificate in Quantitative Business Studies to provide students with the essentials of business data analysis, managerial and financial accounting, fundamental concepts of finance, and the principles of economics.

Students in the five-course program develop skills like using appropriate statistical techniques to support decision-making and read a company’s financial statements to evaluate its financial situation.

“It’s about making sure that our graduates can make an immediate impact on the workforce by applying skills and knowledge that are needed regardless of technological advancements,” says program director Anne Beaudry.

Find out more about JMSB's Business Technology Management Program, and the Graduate Certificate in Quantitative Business Studies.

Preparing students for jobs in business analytics and data science

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