2019 Analytics Summit draws record attendance
More than 400 attendees convened for training and thought leadership around the many real-world applications of business analytics
By Larry Porter, UC Center for Business Analytics
The University of Cincinnati’s Center for Business Analytics held its eighth annual Analytics Summit April 1-3, 2019, at the Sharonville Convention Center. The summit attracted a record attendance of more than 400 attendees representing 150 different companies from across the United States, as well as students and faculty from seven different universities.
“Companies are more data-driven now than ever before, and almost every department makes decisions using analytics,” said Glenn Wegryn, executive director for the Center for Business Analytics. “Our summit attendance increased 25 percent just from last year, which is a testament to the real-world focus and high-quality content that helps professionals to hone their skills and learn from the thought leaders that we can offer through this summit.”
Summit attendees participated in training and workshops throughout the three-day summit, many seeking to grow their skills, hear from thought leaders and network with analytics professionals.
The first two days were comprised of analytics training classes, which provided in-depth instruction for attendees seeking to master tools such as Tableau, MS Power BI, Machine Learning with R, Big Data Hadoop and Spark. Wegryn facilitated a special half-day “Analytics for Executives” session.
Companies are more data-driven now than ever before, and almost every department makes decisions using analytics
Glenn Wegryn, executive director for the Center for Business Analytics
The one-day conference on April 3 featured speakers from 18 different companies, spread across three keynote presentations and five tracks for breakout sessions.
Zeynep Tufekci, techno-sociologist and author of “Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest,” tackled the controversial topic of ethics in the era of machine learning and decision-making.
Zeynep Tufekci, techno-sociologist and author of “Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest,” tackled the controversial topic of ethics in the era of machine learning and decision-making. Her presentation, “Making Decisions with Machines: Ethical Quandaries and Practical Considerations,” generated questions from the audience and sparked lively discussions throughout the day.
Todd Wickerham, special agent in charge at the Cincinnati Field FBI Office, presented on the FBI’s efforts to secure big data.
Todd Wickerham, special agent in charge at the Cincinnati Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, provided a timely update around the FBI’s efforts to secure big data and its perspective on perceived threats. Anne Robinson, chief strategy officer at Kinaxis, presented the final keynote of the day on the value of analytics.
The conference’s five track sessions included three speakers within each track:
- Financial/Risk Management Analytics: FICO, Synchrony/Fidelity, American Modern Insurance Group
- Marketing Analytics: 84.51, PNC Bank, Infotrust
- Operational Analytics: WakeForest University, Evalueserve, National Weather Center
- Analytics Management and Leadership; Cincinnati Children's, Boeing, Domo
- Analytics Tools: SAS, KNIME, ICC
Many Lindner students in both graduate and undergraduate programs volunteered at the 2019 Analytics Summit.
The Center for Business Analytics will host its next event, Data Science Symposium on Oct. 11 in the new Carl H. Lindner Hall. Symposium details will be announced in the near future.
All photos courtesy of Larry Porter, UC Center for Business Analytics.
About the Center for Business Analytics
The University of Cincinnati’s Center for Business Analytics is a corporate-academic partnership that promotes the use of data driven analytical methods. The Center serves its’ members and the community through leadership development, presentation of two annual analytics events, professional analytics training using recognized expert instructors, connecting business organizations to Lindner College of Business MS Business Analytics and MS Information Systems students for research and projects, and managing analytics consulting projects using faculty and university resources. UC’s Center for Business Analytics is here to serve organizations-locally and nationally- to be best in class in analytics
About the Lindner College of Business
At the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, we are committed to developing the next generation of business leaders. Through personalized career coaching and experiential learning, our students graduate with a competitive advantage in the workforce and are strongly positioned to address a multitude of today’s global business challenges. For more than 110 years, we’ve not only served as a catalyst for innovation and cutting-edge research, but our programs have also earned national acclaim in several academic areas. The best is yet to come this fall of 2019, as we celebrate the grand opening of our new state-of-the-art building that promises to firmly position Lindner as one of the best business schools in the nation. We are Greater Cincinnati’s extraordinary college of business.
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