October marked the start of our Practicum projects and our entire cohort was very excited to start their projects with Practicum Sponsors. We were split into 15 teams with each team having 3-4 members. The companies that participated in this year’s practicum were from different domains of business and every project was unique and interesting in their own regard. The project topics ranged from predicting Toronto’s housing market to improving product assortment at retail stores using analytics to name a few.
I along with my teammates Amy and FeiFei, we were assigned to MaRS Discovery District which is one of the world's largest Urban Innovation Hub. Heading to work on the first day, I was amazed to see the design and architecture of the building. MaRS sports a unique infrastructure and it’s right at the heart of downtown Toronto.
On our first day at practicum, we were introduced to our teammates in the Data Catalyst team at MaRS and to our surprise, the entire team took us to Lunch to one of the coolest Burger places downtown.
With all my teammates being from different nationalities and diverse backgrounds, I felt that the experience was going to be enriching not only from the project standpoint but also from a point of enriching cultural intelligence and personal betterment.
Our goal in the project was to improve the analytics component of Planext, a tool that informs and prepares Canadians for the Future of Work. I was very excited to start working in the project due to an innate curiosity to know more about the Future of Work and how Artificial Intelligence is going to shape the workforce in this digital era.
Fall had come; with a change in the air, leaves on the ground, and for me- a new journey with the practicum into the unknown had begun!
The Master of Management Analytics is designed to give students the advanced data management, analytics, and communication skills needed to become an analytics professional.