Today, the prime motive for companies is to increase the supply-demand ratio globally to move towards a smooth financial growth. Whether ‘ ‘it is a startup or a well-established business, the need of the hour is the right data and right analysis. Fortunately, one stream which dives deep into data, has wide applications across various businesses and streams pertaining to almost every industry is Business Analytics. Hence, it has indeed become a lucrative field in the current scenario and is attracting several professionals. Also, with the drive of technological change and growth reaching its peaks, the colossal data in organizations and establishments are just waiting to be mined and put to good use. With such high demands for trained professionals, who can understand data and its applications, colleges and universities across the world have begun extending their academic support to create future data experts.
However, out of all the Institutes of India, which impart Business Analytics learning to the masses, IIM Ahmedabad is in the spotlight for its successful foray into the data-driven world of Business Analytics. Understanding the fact that data is the present and the future, the ePost Graduate Diploma – Advanced Business Analytics (ePGD – ABA) program started by IIMA, strives in the direction of imbibing the importance of efficiency and decision-making in the lives of their students. Effectively utilizing the blended learning format, the program is designed for today’s working professionals, who are looking to make career progression and transition, by adding essential skills and knowledge to their list of achievements.
Curated towards change
Specifically designed to empower professionals, the course allows interested candidates to learn the value of questioning, gathering and analyzing. Addressing all the concerns of today’s business world with the right kind of data, and finally moving towards decision making, the curriculum of the program focuses on the framework of transforming data into insights.
To understand the programme and its importance better, we posed as budding Business Analytics aspirants and conversed with Prof. Anindya Chakrabarti and Prof. Anish Sugathan, Co-chairs, ePGD ABA IIMA. In a nutshell, the programme will focus on building blended expertise in data literacy,data processing, and business acumen said – Prof. Anindya S. Chakrabarti.
Prof. Sugathan added – “The programme offers a carefully thought out mix of courses on tools and techniques for data visualization, modelling and analysis of various data of different sizes, machine learning algorithms, cloud computing..”
Moreover, considering the current pandemic crisis, the ePGD – ABA program delivery has been curated effectively towards being boundary/medium less. With a thoughtful mix of online and on-campus sessions, the online class design and on-campus classroom scheduling are done, taking into account the busy schedule of working professionals. Summing up the conversation on the feasibility of mode of teaching , both the professors’ said, “Hence, this is one of the most well-prepared programs to study as the students will be able to participate with minimal disruptions.”
Lastly, since ePGD-ABA consists of a curriculum designed to give participants an in-depth understanding of analytical tools and techniques, students are trained towards solving real-world complex business problems. Geared towards enhancing the capabilities of professionals taking this course, professors expose them to state-of-the-art data handling tools and techniques, comprehensive knowledge on analytical methods and model development. The unique strength of the IIMA lies in its outstanding faculty, its cutting edge research and the strength of its alumni and industry experts network.
Anindya S Chakrabarti, Assistant Professor (Economics)
A PhD in Economics from Boston University, he currently heads the high-performance computational laboratory at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. He has co-edited a book on Network Theory and Agent-based Modeling in Economics and Finance published by Springer, Singapore in December 2019 and has been published in reputed international journals of economics, physics and applied mathematics such as the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Scientific Reports and Physical Review E . His main research interests are in the characterization and modelling of large scale economic and financial networks, business cycles and firm-level granularity, coordination and learning in multi-agent systems, big data and machine learning in economics and public policy, and geometry of networks and complex dynamics.
Anish Sugathan, Assistant Professor (Strategy)
An Engineer by education from the University of Kerala and a Fellow (PhD.) of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He was the SAP Labs India doctoral scholar at IIM-B and the Giorgio Ruffolo post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He has served as a member of the Honorable NGT appointed expert committee on environmental valuation for the industrial clusters of Vapi in Gujarat and Tarapur in Maharashtra. He serves on the board of state-owned electricity distribution utility UGVCL, Govt. of Gujarat as an independent director. He also advises several startups in the energy-tech and smart governance space. He is currently researching efficient organizational forms and smarter environmental regulations for the Indian energy sector. His research has been published in reputed international journals like Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science, Energy, Energy Policy, Journal of International Business Studies, Rutgers Business Review, Economics and Political Weekly, and many national and international dailies.
