‘Big Data’ Will Give Some MBA Applicants An Edge

The article below describes how Haas Berkeley and many other schools are revising their structures and curricula to adapt to the the data analytics wave in business.

The MBA admissions implication is, if you have some background in ‘big data’ you have an edge almost anywhere you apply, and you want to make this a core part of your platform. Your knowledge and background will contribute to the learning experience of others, in the classroom and in group work. With this background, and with MBA in hand, you will be all the more recruitable to brand-name firms upon graduation. And so on.

If you don’t have this type of background (most don’t), don’t panic. Look for your edge elsewhere. Remember the happy rule, which is MBA adcoms are each year required to recruit a cohort that is widely diverse in its experiences and specializations.

From BusinessBecause:  “California’s Haas School of Business became the latest big name business school to revamp some of its MBA curriculum to include a focus on big data.

“Haas has teamed up with top management consultancy firm Accenture to create new classes and a lecture series designed to give MBAs the tools required to understand and work with big data…

“Business schools believe data analytics is essential for business leaders who will increasingly need data analysis to glean insight and drive decision making…

“Accenture is one of a number of leading employers to have invested in business education. KPMG will invest £20 million in a data analytics research centre at Imperial College Business School in London. IBM and Telfer School of Management have invested around $5 million into a similar centre at Telfer…

“Accenture has estimated previously that the US could see demand for analytics talent outstrip supply by more than 250,000 positions this year alone. A survey of Fortune 100 recruiters by the Graduate Management Admission Council this month found that MBA employers cited analytics skills the most frequently…

“The tie-up is the latest in a long line of new program and curriculum launches. HEC Paris, a leading French business school, revamped some of the content of its MBA in a deal with IBM. DeGroote School of Business in North America recently launched an EMBA degree focused on big data with IBM and Canadian bank CIBC.

“Master programs in business analytics are rapidly increasing in supply. Schools with highly-ranked MBAs are forming standalone courses.

“These include Warwick Business School which runs the MSc Business Analytics, the master’s in business analytics at Melbourne Business School, and the MSC in Business Analytics at USC Marshall School of Business.

“In 2015 both Yale School of Management, and Kogod School of Business have announced plans to launch analytics and software courses. Data programs at ESSEC Business School, Amsterdam Business School, and CEU Business School will also start this year.”