Quick Info

• Name: Ivy Cui
• Previous education - Bachelor of Commerce with High Distinction, Finance and Economics Specialist, Statistics Major Rotman Commerce, University of Toronto

Why did you decide to study the Master of Management Analytics program?

First, it fits my career goal.

My short-term career goal is to do consulting. With the explosion of data and information, the consulting industry has been switching from traditional problem solving to more data-driven decision-making. Through the business analytics program, I hope to harnesses statistics, AI, and market insights to identify patterns in large data-sets and use analytics to provide insights for business performance and industry analysis.

Business Analytics can help me better launch my career as a consultant, and follow the trend of big data.

Second, as a finance and economics undergrad student, I learned a lot of economics and finance theories. But I realized that to apply those theories to reality, data analysis skills are necessary, and that is also why I decided to add a statistics minor in my second year.

Third, from my internship experiences, I realized the importance of data analysis and automation. I hope I could learn these technical skills in a more systematic way in lectures, and apply them in projects. And MMA actually fits all my requirements.

What were your top reasons for choosing Rotman?

First, the practicum program attracted me a lot.

In the practicum, I can apply what I have learned in class to solve real-world business problems and a more accurate understanding of the industry. 

Also, it can provide me with good networking opportunities. Second, I completed my undergrad at Rotman, I know it has a good reputation, useful career services, and resources.

I have been so proud as a Rotman student, and I had a deep emotional attachment to Rotman. It has been my dream to keep studying at Rotman and make my own contributions to the Rotman community.

Also, MMA in Rotman is a relatively new program and the last two years have impressive placement statistics. I think the faculty will place more attention on this newer program to build a good reputation. Also, it is located in Downtown Toronto!

What are you looking forward to most in the program?

I am most looking forward to developing technical skills, especially programming skills and the practicum project. 

What do you expect to gain in your next 11 months at Rotman?

Throughout the next 11 months at Rotman, I expect to be able to apply data analytics skills to business contexts.

How have you found the online experience at Rotman? 

It is a challenging, but still a super fun experience. Even though we have almost every lecture online, we still got a lot of chances to connect with each other. We have online networking sessions to help us get to know each other better. And all the lectures are very interactive so that we can always hear our classmates’ ideas.

Did COVID-19 make you re-consider your decision to study this year, and if so, what made you decide to continue? 

No, it is always my choice to go to grad school right after graduating from my undergrad since the skills I learned in MMA will greatly help me with my career. Even though it might not be ideal to have this year online, but MMA made the online experience as good as possible.

The Master of Management Analytics is designed to give students the advanced data management, analytics, and communication skills needed to become an analytics professional.