Not too long ago, I announced a pretty significant career change. Yes, I’m returning to academia to teach at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
I could not have taught at an institution clinging to the past. Fortunately, that doesn't apply here. It’s clear to me that ASU is one of an increasing number of colleges and universities that recognizes the importance of data, analytics, and data science. (That's not to say that it has stuck the landing, though.)
Talking heads like me have been aware of this trend for a few years now. Still, it’s interesting to hear and read the perspectives of current students on the matter. For instance, current UNC-Chapel Hill student Jeff Duresky wrote an interesting post on how some universities are moving from theory to practice. That is, his classes are moving beyond the hype of Big Data. Students are actually operationalizing new data sources in the classroom through sophisticated tools such as JMP. They are working on both real-world and fictional datasets. In some cases, they are acquiring valuable professional experience on corporate projects. In so doing, they are complementing their academic underpinnings and making themselves considerably more employable.
Why are colleges teaching Big Data now?
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