January was a whirlwind of activity including classes, assignments, group work, presentations, and extra-curricular sessions. February was much not different. The second term subjects included four subjects: Big Data Analytics, Modelling tools, Data Visualization, Probabilistic Modelling tools, and Spreadsheet Analysis. The detailed course description can be found on the MMA course descriptions on the Rotman website.
One of the many reasons why I chose the MMA program at Rotman was the fact that it covered many different tools and programming languages. The four subjects mentioned above covered Python, R, advanced Excel, SQL, Power BI, and Tableau. The learning curve has been immense.
Along with the courses, I was also preparing for the 3-week Practicum intensive period in February. My practicum host is BMO: Bank of Montreal and we (team of 4) will be working on a Data Science project related to their Marketing and Social Impact Analytics Team for the Wealth Management Business. We will be using SAS, SQL, and some BMO specific tools to support their Analytics Team. Different students work with different host companies in order to ensure that each team has a new project.
It truly widens your perspective to see such varied applications of analytics in different industries.
Apart from the classes and practicum, I have also been attending many (virtual) corporate events and club-related events. Rotman has many diverse student clubs, all part of the Graduate Business Council here at Rotman.
I am currently a member of the Rotman Business Analytics Club (RBAC) amongst others. The clubs organize many interesting activities, workshops, and case competitions. One such event was the RBAC 2021 Data Visualization Case Competition where we had to create an interactive dashboard for Toronto Traffic Police to aid in their Vision Zero Road Safety plan. My wonderful team came in first place at that event.
We also had sessions with the SDL: Self Development Lab in individual and group settings. The SDL helps students get individual feedback on their communications and interactions in a business setting. The sessions were very helpful for me and my team.
Meanwhile, as lockdown continues in Toronto, we joke on being the Covid cohort. Our batch is yet to have a class in the imposing Rotman building, though we do use the building façade as our Zoom backgrounds. As a cohort, we check on each other from time to time. To ensure that I do not stay cooped up in the house, I make sure to take socially distanced walks on weekends and get some sunshine!
The Master of Management Analytics is designed to give students the advanced data management, analytics, and communication skills needed to become an analytics professional.