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New Deakin University’s business analytics course addresses skills shortage

Announcement posted by Infotech Marketing & Communications Pty Ltd 31 May 2013

Course endorsed by advocacy group ICT Geelong

Advocacy group ICT Geelong (the Geelong Region ICT Cluster) has endorsed Deakin University’s development of a new business analytics course to cater for the growing demand from industry for skills in this specialty field.  

 

The course, which is the first Master’s Course in business analytics in Australia, will be launched at the Deakin University (Burwood Campus) in July. Developed on the back of significant industry consultation the course has attracted lots of interest from the ICT and beyond.

 

Analytics involves mining the huge volumes of data being generated by information systems to inform business strategy and to drive performance.

 

Craig Hill of ICT Geelong said “the region would benefit by increasing the pool of people trained in analytics and help to create employment opportunities.

 

“Once the NBN starts rolling out in Geelong, we envisage local IT consultancies will need people with the skills to meet the fast growing demand for business analysis services,” he said.

 

The Head of the School of Information and Business Analytics at Deakin University, Professor Dineli Mather, said it is hoped the Master’s program, the first coursework based degree, will accept between 80 and 100 students a year.

 

Professor Mather said extensive consultation with regional IT industry leaders confirmed the need for the course to meet projected demand from business and industry.

 

The course will be delivered through a mix of on campus lectures and online mechanisms including live and recorded webcasts she says.

 

Senior lecturer in IT at Deakin’s Waurn Ponds campus in Geelong, John Lamp said typical candidates for an analytics course are managers and IT/IS graduates with some organisational experience. The inaugural course at Burwood campus has also attracted enrolments from marketing professionals, finance specialists, analysts, mathematicians and health industry managers.

 

The School of Information and Business Analytics at Deakin’s Burwood campus is home to the IBM Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics. Professor Mather said IBM has committed to offering free analytic certification programs for students enrolled in the new Master’s course, as is SAS, another Deakin industry partner.

 

About ICT Geelong

 

Deakin University is a foundation member of ICT Geelong, the representative voice and peak body of the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) industry in the Geelong region. Its foundation members are industry leaders from the private sector, experts from tertiary education institutions and community leaders from the public sector. ICT Geelong’s vision is to establish the Geelong region as a major Victorian ICT precinct, and act as a significant player in the State Government’s vision to position Victoria as a globally recognised ICT region.