AI Insights Magazine
WINTER 2021
Assistant Dean’s Letter
Greetings from the Milgard Center for Business Analytics (CBA) at UW Tacoma. I am Haluk Demirkan, Ph.D. and I’m the Assistant Dean of Analytics Innovations in the Milgard School of Business as well as Founding Director of the CBA and the Master of Science of Business Analytics (MSBA) programs. I’m pleased to share with you the first publication of our Analytics Innovation Magazine that is being powered by the Milgard Center for Business Analytics and the AI Hub at UW Tacoma.
We launched the CBA in 2016 to serve as a catalyst for research, education and innovation in the use of data, analytics and smart technologies. Our mission is to help individuals, businesses and our community grow and succeed in our global digital economy by gaining actionable insights from big data for data-driven decision-making. Since the formation of the CBA, we have created several programs that focus on education, community engagement, technology, research, communications and professional development.
This is our inaugural issue of the AI Magazine and we plan to publish future issues on a quarterly basis. Our goal for this magazine is to highlight several of our initiatives and accomplishments across our various programs. Contributors to this magazine include our faculty, our staff, our students and our partners in the community with whom we co-create mutual value. We will also use this magazine to keep you informed about future events sponsored by the CBA as well as to provide contemporary tools and methods in data & analytics in the form of short tutorials.
I hope you find this content insightful and I welcome you to follow our Analytics Innovation Blog to stay informed about upcoming events and programs between quarterly publications of the AI Magazine. Please reach out to myself or my Assistant Director, Michael Helser, Ph.D. if you would like to get more information about the CBA and how you can get involved.
Cheers,
Haluk
Haluk Demirkan
Assistant Dean of Analytics Innovation, Director of CBA and MSBA
Inside AI Insights
News & Events
Milgard School of Business is Now Offering Essentials of Management Program
Have you spent the last 6 months of the pandemic wishing you could work toward a goal or improving your professional prospects? Are you itching to network with other professionals but can’t find a way to connect during the time of COVID? Have you always wanted to earn...
Community Engagement
Puyallup Consumer Perceptions Survey – Pod people?
As the final survey is wrapped up, and the results are finalized, we begin a multi-part exploration of the data. Where are people comfortable dining? Extremely Comfortable Somewhat Comfortable Neutral Somewhat uncomfortable Very Uncomfortable Eating on Patio -...
Milgard Center for Business Analytics Leads Community Engagement at UW Tacoma for 4 Years and Counting
Work-based learning and community engagement (MSBA Applied Projects) are at the core of our mission in the Milgard Center for Business Analytics (CBA). And it's no surprise that our Center is a leader at UW Tacoma on community engagement projects. In this post, I...
MSBA Students Partner with the City of Puyallup to Reinvent their Economy
One of our current Master of Science of Business Analytics (MSBA) Applied Projects was featured in an article in the Sept/Oct issue of Cityvision - The Association of Washington Cities Magazine. The MSBA team is partnering with the City of Puyallup to help them...
Education
Tips for Making Your MSBA Application Stand Out
My name is Cynthia Riley DeHope and I work with prospective applicants to the MSBA and MBA programs. I hope to give you insight to the MSBA program and application process on this blog. The MSBA admissions page includes important information about application...
MSBA students now can access their Data Science Virtual Machines and Applied Project team databases.
Technology is an essential piece of MSBA curriculum and at CBA we strive to provide cutting-edge technology resources to our students along with rich, easy-to-follow learning materials. We’re so excited to announce that with the start of the Autumn quarter, MSBA...
Research
Measuring Consumer Confidence in an Unconfident Era
Word cloud generated from sentiment analysis of tweets during COVID-19 outbreak. Bergman/UW Behind the scenes with Dr. Margo Bergman: Helping Washington State Economist’s Office find a new measure for consumer confidence. By Megan Tan | Jun 2, 2020 We are constantly...
Students & Alumni
Business & Data Analytics Minor is the #1 Minor at UW Tacoma
The Business & Data Analytics (BDA) Minor is the #1 minor selected by UW Tacoma undergraduate students, which is very impressive given the BDA minor was offered less than one year ago. The minor in Business Data Analytics is open to all majors on campus. It is...
MSBA Alumni Spotlight – Sonika Shivani Vijaykumar – MSBA ’20
Background Sonika Shivani Vijaykumar (MSBA ’20) is an international student from India. Coming from an undergraduate background in Physics and Mathematics and an MBA from University of Wisconsin – River falls in 2019, Sonika and her teammates worked together with TCS...
AI Club
UW Tacoma AI Club Wins 2020 INFORMS Student Chapter Annual Award
Congratulations to the University of Washington Tacoma Analytics Innovations Club! They were selected as a winner of the 2020 INFORMS Student Chapter Award at the Cum Laude level. The University of Washington Tacoma Analytics Innovations Club (AI Club) is led...
Upcoming Events
Jan 24, 2021
Foundations for Data Analytics
Launch your career in Business and Data Analytics
Jan 25, 2021
Executive Management Program
Succeed in today’s business environment…
Jan 2021
Upcoming MSBA Info Sessions
January 5, 7, 11, 14
Featured Articles
Milgard Center for Business Analytics Leads Community Engagement at UW Tacoma for 4 Years and Counting
Work-based learning and community engagement (MSBA Applied Projects) are at the core of our mission in the Milgard Center for Business Analytics (CBA). And it's no surprise that our Center is a leader at UW Tacoma on community engagement projects. In this post, I will share with you a high-level overview of the nearly 60 projects our students and faculty in the CBA have worked on to date. In future posts, I'll share more details on the projects categorized by specific sectors and business problems that we are addressing using contemporary business analytics tools and expertise. The CBA...
Business & Data Analytics Minor is the #1 Minor at UW Tacoma
The Business & Data Analytics (BDA) Minor is the #1 minor selected by UW Tacoma undergraduate students, which is very impressive given the BDA minor was offered less than one year ago. The minor in Business Data Analytics is open to all majors on campus. It is designed to prepare undergraduate students with the skills to understand how to interpret and analyze data. The Milgard Center for Business Analytics (CBA) led the introduction of business analytics to the University of Washington, starting with the Master of Science of Business Analytics (MSBA) degree at UW Tacoma in 2017. ...
MSBA Students Partner with the City of Puyallup to Reinvent their Economy
One of our current Master of Science of Business Analytics (MSBA) Applied Projects was featured in an article in the Sept/Oct issue of Cityvision - The Association of Washington Cities Magazine. The MSBA team is partnering with the City of Puyallup to help them develop a Covid-19 post-pandemic plan to reinvent their economy in the region. Before the pandemic, Puyallup had a robust economy and a downtown core that was thriving. But like similar cities across the nation, many sectors were hit hard during the pandemic and city leaders are seeking data-driven strategies to proactively...
UW Tacoma AI Club Wins 2020 INFORMS Student Chapter Annual Award
Congratulations to the University of Washington Tacoma Analytics Innovations Club! They were selected as a winner of the 2020 INFORMS Student Chapter Award at the Cum Laude level. The University of Washington Tacoma Analytics Innovations Club (AI Club) is led by the Milgard Center for Business Analytics (CBA) and is the University of Washington Tacoma Student Chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). The club encourages interest in the field of Analytics Innovation (e.g. Data Analytics, Digital Innovation, Operations Research,...
Tips for Making Your MSBA Application Stand Out
My name is Cynthia Riley DeHope and I work with prospective applicants to the MSBA and MBA programs. I hope to give you insight to the MSBA program and application process on this blog. The MSBA admissions page includes important information about application deadlines and upcoming digital information sessions. I encourage you to reach out with any questions or to schedule an appointment. The best way to reach me is by email at cynthia8@uw.edu. I look forward to connecting with you! If you've been following the Milgard MSBA program, you know it stands out for many reasons. Students have the unique opportunity to complete a yearlong Applied Project with a local company, learn from world...
MSBA students now can access their Data Science Virtual Machines and Applied Project team databases.
Technology is an essential piece of MSBA curriculum and at CBA we strive to provide cutting-edge technology resources to our students along with rich, easy-to-follow learning materials. We’re so excited to announce that with the start of the Autumn quarter, MSBA students will have access to CBA Virtual Analytics Lab, which contains a Data Science Virtual Machine for each MSBA student, and Azure SQL Databases for their applied projects. What is CBA Virtual Analytics Lab? Through this lab, each MSBA student has access to a pre-configured Data Science Virtual Machine. Data Science Virtual Machines are remote Windows desktops that can be accessed over the Internet and they contain popular...
MSBA Alumni Spotlight – Sonika Shivani Vijaykumar – MSBA ’20
Background Sonika Shivani Vijaykumar (MSBA ’20) is an international student from India. Coming from an undergraduate background in Physics and Mathematics and an MBA from University of Wisconsin – River falls in 2019, Sonika and her teammates worked together with TCS World Travel, a luxury tour operator based in Seattle (MSBA Applied Project: Predictive Modeling using Clustering Model, Propensity model, and developing Tableau/Power BI dashboards to segment TCS World Travel’s customers based on behavioral and demographical data). Sonika had experience in Business Development before MSBA. She currently works for Milgard Center for Business Analytics as a BI & Data Analytics...
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