The first ever Irish third-level course on analytics was officially launched today as the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and software firm SAS Ireland collaborated on a new skill set incorporating business intelligence and predictive analytics into the DIT school of computing master’s programmes.
Data analytics is a growing field and large businesses increasingly require a way for the large volumes of data they generate to be sieved through and analysed, pinpointing where they can best expand their business or capitalise on certain aspects of innovation.
The course, headed by lecturer Dr Brian Mac Namee, will teach these skills but will also expose students to the powerful tools and software being used by business professionals in this field today.
“Modern society is awash in data,” said Michael Kearney, managing director, SAS Ireland.
“The tools, concepts and practices of analytics hold the key to understanding massive amounts of data and then using this knowledge to make sound decisions. Whether it is uncovering fraud in banking transactions, improving the quality of healthcare received by patients or predicting which customers will respond to a marketing campaign, the applications of data analytics cross all industries.
“As such, the ability to strategically apply analytics is a core skill across industry, making experts in the field in high demand,” he added.
DIT President, Professor Brian Norton, said this was a good example of exactly how business and academia can work together by putting these concepts into practical use with the most recent technologies in the field.
This new master’s follows the introductory SAS certification course in DIT, which saw 20 students receiving SAS qualifications.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: Michael Kearney, country manager, SAS Ireland and DIT president, Professor Brian Norton
