McMaster Big Data Analytics Certificate meets industry need

There is a clear message coming from business and industry in 2018: a shift is needed from data-generation to data analysis and insights.

CEOs and CIOs from a range of industries say that one of their biggest challenges today is managing the growing volumes of unorganized data and deriving value from it that can drive business decisions.

The potential benefits from properly analyzing and using data cut across sectors – from improving manufacturing processes, to reducing wasted retail product, to advancing health care, to creating effective marketing campaigns, to stimulating human workforce performance.

McMaster University Centre for Continuing Education has stepped up to meet that challenge with a new Big Data Analytics certificate program.The part-time evening and weekend program offers hands-on courses taught by highlyqualified industry professionals currently in the field. Students learn from live case studies with industry-current tools, and cap off their program with a real-time project they can add to their portfolio.

Aaron Brox is an instructor in the Big Data Analytics program and is also a consultant in business intelligence and analytics with almost twenty years of experience in the finance and insurance industry. Brox, who began his career as a call centre training facilitator after graduating with a degree in liberal arts, explains, “It’s not all just about data science. Companies need people who are trained to ask the right questions. This skill is crucial for tackling complex business problems.”

Instructor Dario Medina agrees. “You have to show the value and meaning of the data, or there’s no point in collecting it. It must become an interactive component used to drill into business intelligence.”

With master’s degrees in both software engineering and business, Medina is a Senior Analyst for Business Intelligence at TD Bank and also designs and teaches courses in the Big Data Analytics program. “I love teaching how to deliver the message,” he says. “There’s an immense opportunity right now for employees to upgrade their skills and fill the shortfall of data insight talent in Canada. Companies will look to employees for that value-add.”

McMaster’s Big Data Analytics program is the perfect upgrade for those with a degree or diploma in science, computer science, technology, mathematics, business or engineering or who have work experience in tech, business intelligence, web analytics or data analysis. But even for those currently working in an unrelated field who want to explore data analytics as a new career path, the program could be a good fit: McMaster also offers a Foundations of Analytics program for anyone who lacks the prerequisite knowledge in statistics, computer programming and basic analytics.

Visit McMasterCCE.ca/data-analytics for more information and to enrol.