MBA (Business Analytics & Big Data): Interview with Dr. Sandeep Goyal, LM Thapar School of Management

Established in 2007, LM Thapar School of Management Dera Bassi is a constituent college of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. Popularly known as LMTSM Dera Bassi, LM Thapar School of Management is a private management college which offers post graduate and doctoral programmes in the field of management. One of the latest and prominent specializations at LMTSM Dera Bassi is MBA Business Analytics and Big Data (MBA BABD). Students willing to apply for LMTSM admission need to appear for Thapar Management Aptitude Test and Research Aptitude Test or submit valid scores of top management scores.

In this exclusive interview with Careers360, Dr. Sandeep Goyal, Associate Professor of Business Analytics & Big Data at LM Thapar School of Management shared all about the MBA in Business Analytics and Big Data (BABD). DR. Goyal shared all about the important factors, future perspective of students, industry connection and other details regarding MBA BABD. To know more, read the full interview with Dr. Sandeep Goyal.

Careers360: What is the latest specialization offered by LM Thapar School of Management?

Dr. Goyal: LM Thapar School of Management offers a two-year full-time MBA programme with a choice of ten specializations. MBA - Business Analytics and Big Data (BABD) is one of the popular specializations that LM Thapar School of Management is currently offering to meet the increasing demand in the market.

LMTSM courses aim to develop globally sensitive, scholarly practitioners with a social entrepreneurial mindset. All the specializations offered at LMTSM are designed to cater to the demands of the industry, and specifically, the dual specialization arrangement inculcates flexibility in students to be able to follow career paths as per emerging trends and requirements in the corporate world.

Careers360: Why is Business Analytics and Big Data more popular these days?

Dr. Goyal: Over 90% of the world's data has been generated in the last few years. Today, more than 5.16 billion internet users and 6.92 billion smartphone users globally generate more than 2.5 quintillion bytes (2.5 X 10^18 bytes) of data daily. Considering the humongous amount of data generation, it has become a critical corporate asset and competitive advantage for companies everywhere. This has led to a massive increase in demand for data analytics professionals across companies globally.

Careers360: What are the factors that make this programme a good choice?

Dr. Goyal: The benefits of opting for this programme can be summarised as follows

1. High demand: With increasing data-driven decision making in businesses across industries, the need for professionals in big data and analytics is very high.

2. Innovative mindset: The insights that one can draw leveraging business analytics and big data are a roadmap to innovate and improve.

3. Career opportunities: The job market for individuals with a big data and analytics background is strong and growing. Graduates of these programmes can find employment in various industries, including finance, healthcare, marketing, and technology.

4. Competitive salaries: Professionals with skills in big data and analytics typically earn high salaries due to their specialized skill set and the demand for their services.

5. Interdisciplinary skill sets: Big data and analytics programmes often combine elements of computer science, statistics, and business. Students who opt for this programme will get a well-rounded versatile education that can be applied in a variety of fields.

6. Advancements in technology: The field of big data and analytics is constantly evolving as new technologies emerge. Students who choose this field will have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge tools and techniques.

7. Personal interest: Students who are passionate about data, technology, and problem-solving may find big data and analytics to be a natural fit for their skills and interests.

Overall, the combination of high demand, career opportunities, competitive salaries, interdisciplinary education, technological advancements, and personal interest make big data and business analytics programs an excellent choice for students seeking a career in a growing and dynamic field.

Careers360: What are the best practices used in Business Analytics and Big Data programmes?

Dr. Goyal: Some of the practices to be put in use are

1. Effective Communication of insights: Business analytics & big data course emphasizes skills in data visualization, storytelling, and effective communication. Therefore, the ability to communicate insights derived from data analysis is essential.

2. Focus on practical applications: Students get opportunities to work with real-world data sets and use industry-standard tools to gain practical experience in data analysis.

3. Collaboration with peers: Business Analytics and Big Data course projects require collaboration among team members with different skill sets. Collaborating with peers can help students develop essential teamwork and communication skills.

4. Understand the fundamentals: It is essential to have a solid foundation in statistics, computer programming, and data analysis to succeed in business analytics and big data. This course ensures developing a strong understanding of these fundamentals before diving into more advanced topics.

Careers360: What are some valuable insights of the course?

Dr. Goyal: Developing the competencies amongst data analytic students is the aim of the programme. Students get to

• Learn to extract, transform, load and integrate huge volumes of different data types and further build and deploy various machine learning models.

• Derive analytic outcomes for different business scenarios by understand key analytic programming languages and their application.

• Deal with real world problems by developing requisite skills in creating machine learning models

• Appreciate the importance of contemporary developments in analytics domain and its impact on business and society in current times and the future.

Read more about LMTSM placements

Careers360: How are students prepared for the future through this programme?

Dr. Goyal: Students who want to build careers in the world of Business Analytics & Big Data can gain good opportunities and expertise with the help of the programme. Analysing the huge volume of structured and unstructured data and learning to make uniformed decisions in areas like marketing, human resource, finance, and operations are some takeaways of the programme. Development of an analytic mindset and data-oriented skills will be the outcome of learning in this course.

Careers360: What are the salient teaching methodologies used by the faculty for this programme?

Dr. Goyal: Various pedagogical tools like case discussion and analysis, flipped classrooms, video interventions, problem-solving, in-class tests, tutorials etc., are some methods used by the faculty for a more engaged teaching and learning process. Students are also encouraged to take over the class in a case discussion or flipped classroom setup thereby allowing them to play an essential role in the teaching and learning process.

Most core courses of three credits have two lectures and one tutorial class every week. Students are divided into smaller groups for the tutorial class which allows faculty to revise the concepts. In addition, extra problems are done by students to improve their learning and understanding. Students who are weak in any area can raise doubts and queries in the small group tutorial classes.

Careers360: How is the industry connection built in this program?

Dr. Goyal: An industry connection is a lasting relationship and should be two-way. At LM Thapar School of Management, we tend to develop, nurture and improve industry connections thus making it a fulfilling association for both ends. The industry partners should benefit from the association, while students should be able to derive as much experience and value as possible.

Some of the most successful models of industry connect for this program are – Student internships, consultancy projects, research projects, case studies, engagement in hosting and conducting industry events, conferences, workshops, and seminars, and in-practice course fulfillment with the industry partners.

Careers360: What are the challenges faced during the inculcation of the programme and its curriculum?

Dr. Goyal: Interdisciplinary content is one of the key requirements in any good Business Analytics program. This means that a good Analytics program needs to have the right blend of Statistics, Management and Computer Science courses. Getting the rights experts with these skills and integrating these courses in a seamless manner was the challenge that we faced during the initial stage. Since we are a University with expertise in the disciplines of computer science, management and mathematics, we leveraged our interdisciplinary strengths to overcome this challenge.

The other challenge we faced involved industry interface for project-based learning. However, a majority of the faculties taking up courses for analytics students have prior industry experience in the IT companies in India. So, they add a lot of value in enabling experience / project-based learning of analytics subjects among the students.

Disclaimer: This content was distributed by LM Thapar School of Management Dera Bassi and has been published as part of Careers360’s marketing initiative.

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