Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

EXPOSING STUDENTS TO PRACTICE WITH A

CASE COMPETITION

POLLY MITCHELL-GUTHRIE

INFORMS ANNUAL MEETING, 12 NOVEMBER 2014

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

AGENDA

Creating a Student Case CompetitionPolly Mitchell-Guthrie

Choosing Case Studies and Judging SubmissionsJeff Day

Creating Big Industry Success Cases through Academic-Industry Collaboration in Business AnalyticsYoung Jae Jang

Great Opportunity for Students in Business AnalyticsShin Woong Sung and Jae Ryong Yeo

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

WHERE ARE THE UNICORNS?

(Image credit: photo by Arvind Grover// attribution by creative commons)

• Some people call data scientists

unicorns

• Questioning – do they really exist?

• Mythology because of their unique

skill set

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

UNICORNS HAVE FOUR LEGS

(Image credit: photo by Rob Boudon/ /attribution by creative commons)

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND

• Analytical skills

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND

• Analytical skills

• Programming skills

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND

• Analytical skills

• Programming skills

• Business acumen

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND….SO IS A HORN!

• Analytical skills

• Programming skills

• Business acumen

• Communication skills

• Curiosity

• Creativity

• Discipline

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

WHY DID WE LAUNCH THE COMPETITION?

• To highlight need for balance of skills

• To help facilitate learning about practice at the conference

• To create opportunity for experience of practice

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

APPLICATION PROCESS

Complete applications include:

• Statement of Work

• Resume/CV

• 3 short answer questions

Components to prepare:

• Review guidelines and criteria

• Download case study

• Participate in discussion forum

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

APPLICATION PROCESS

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

APPLICATION PROCESS

• You can submit questions

to the characters in the

case study

• Open February 1-13,

2015

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

BENEFITS FOR WINNERS

First Place

• Expenses paid for Analytics

Conference

• Sponsorship for INFORMS

Professional Colloquium

Honorable Mentions

• Justification to apply elsewhere for

funding for Analytics Conference

• Recommendation for INFORMS

Professional Colloquium

All winners

• Opportunity to present poster of their Statement of Work

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

2013 HONORABLE MENTION SHIN WOONG SUNG/KAIST

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

BENEFITS FOR WINNERS

First Place

• Expenses paid for Analytics

Conference

• Sponsorship for INFORMS

Professional Colloquium

Honorable Mentions

• Justification to apply elsewhere for

funding for Analytics Conference

• Recommendation for INFORMS

Professional Colloquium

All winners

• Opportunity to present poster of their Statement of Work

• Recognition and publicity

• Resume builder

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

RECOGNITION OF WINNERS

• All winners names and universities

listed on INFORMS website

• Winning submissions listed with

their name

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

PUBLICITY ABOUT WINNERS

• Interview with 2013 winner

Alex Akulov

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

PUBLICITY ABOUT WINNERS

• Blurb in Analytics Magazine newsletter

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

BENEFITS FOR WINNERS

First Place

• Expenses paid for Analytics

Conference

• Sponsorship for INFORMS

Professional Colloquium

Honorable Mentions

• Justification to apply elsewhere for

funding for Analytics Conference

• Recommendation for INFORMS

Professional Colloquium

All winners

• Opportunity to present poster of their Statement of Work

• Publicity

• Resume builder

• Chance to learn how case study was really solved

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

2014 WINNERS AND JUDGES

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

ARE YOU A UNICORN CROSSING?

(Image credit: photo by rumpleteaser// attribution by creative commons)

• Take a chance and let us know you are crossing the road – APPLY!

Copyr i g ht © 2014, SAS Ins t i tu t e Inc . A l l r ights reser ve d .

CREATING A

STUDENT CASE

COMPETITION

2013 WINNER ALEX AKULOV

As a winner of SAS and INFORMS Student Analytical Scholar Competition, I

would like to thank the organizers and sponsors of this award for providing me

with the opportunity to get a glimpse into the real world analytics problems.

Winning this award has not only given me an additional resume credential, but

also connected me with local analytics professionals. Aside from the excitement

of INFORMS Analytics Conference, this summer I was also invited to speak at

Vancouver Analytics Group meeting, where I shared learning lessons from

writing a winning consulting proposal. This has raised my profile and led to

making important employment connections. I would encourage the sponsors to

continue putting on competitions like Student Analytical Scholar, as these

contests have a direct positive effect on students, encouraging them to learn

new skills through challenging real world problems.