On March 22, students, researchers, scholars, and professionals gathered at Bryant University for the seventh annual Analytics Without Borders conference. Hosted in partnership with Tufts University, Bentley University and Nichols College, the day-long event featured exciting lectures, interactive workshops and networking opportunities where attendees learned about the latest advances in analysis and artificial intelligence.
“This event is truly an opportunity for everyone to showcase their work, share their ideas, and engage in productive discussions that extend beyond the boundaries of our organization,” said University President Bryant. Ross GittellPh.D.
Committed to integrating analytical strategies and solutions into the university’s curriculum, Gittell explained that Bryant launched graduate programs in Data Science, Business AnalysisAnd Health IT last year and will create a state-of-the-art AI data center in the university’s new Center for Entrepreneurship and Leadership.
“One of the most important topics of our time is harnessing the power of analytics and AI to improve society and education. When analytics and AI are done well, they can be a force for positive change to create solutions that will benefit the next generation of students, industries and community leaders,” Gittell told attendees.
After the keynote address, keynote speaker Todd Gustafson ’86, president of HP Federal LLC and head of U.S. public sector at HP Inc., provided advice on the skills needed to succeed in a career in data analytics; suggestions included creating your career plan and goals, understanding the cloud, being a good communicator, never compromising your integrity, and being willing to embrace change and speak up. He also highlighted the influence of AI within his industry and noted that HP is already thinking about ways to prepare its intelligence, product design and software for the future.
“Make sure you understand that life is continuous learning and you don’t miss this opportunity to move forward, especially in the world of AI and data science,” said Gustafson who , during his speech, presented Gittell with a mission coin as a coin. appreciation for HP’s partnership with Bryant. “You’re going to meet people who won’t accept you for your critical thinking, and people who will. Find environments where they won’t bother you and enjoy them.
The mic was then passed to Michael Jabbour, Director of Education Innovation at Microsoft, who explained that AI can create a more equitable educational experience for students and help teachers and administrative offices with certain tasks. Jabbour recently spent less than an hour using AI and data analytics to create a flexible elementary schedule for a school district.
“The district reported that this 45-minute session saved them 10,000 hours of planning time,” Jabbour said.
With AI in the lead, attendees also heard Bryant’s speech Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) Director Terri Hasseler, Ph.D., and Constanza Bartholomae, Associate Director and Teaching Assistant of CTE, who spoke about the approach to AI sensing systems from a teaching and learning perspective. Hasseler noted that currently the accuracy of these systems is low and the detectors only work well if something is 100% human or AI-written. Through restructuring assignments, teaching students how to use and cite AI effectively, and more, faculty can navigate the world of opportunities that AI offers.
Seeking to share their wisdom with emerging analysts, six people, including Bryant alumni, participated in a career panel discussion where they talked about their current roles, tools they use regularly, such as Python, Sequel and Tableau, and previous university courses which they found useful.
“One piece of advice I can give you is to try to understand the industry you’re going into,” said Daniel McGowan, director of advanced analytics solutions for Fidelity Investments. “Sometimes data scientists and analysts can take orders, which you don’t want to do. You want to understand the business so you can be more of a consultant when working with stakeholders. This will make you more valuable, as you will be able to inject your ideas and take the request to the next level.
Dustin Cabral ’09, director of Cleartelligence LLC’s data visualization and analytics practice, suggested students create a portfolio. Even if they have limited experience or use cases, they can use free online data to build a portfolio.
“It could be a visualization portfolio or a coding portfolio, but there has to be something tangible that people can look at and understand what level you are at and what you can produce,” said Cabral, who also hosted a Tableau beginner workshop. at the conference.
Later in the afternoon, attendees received more career advice from Preethi Lodha, head of data and insights analytics at the University of Massachusetts, and Katy Sandlin McMahon, practice director at Cleartelligence for application development, during a “Women in Analytics” panel. Working in a male-dominated field, the two spoke about the adversity they faced, how people can support women in analytics, and the mentors they found along the way.
“Keep an open mind to the idea of having multiple mentors or identifying people you would like to emulate,” Lodha told attendees.
Throughout the day, students and faculty spoke about recent and ongoing research in which they used analytics to advance understanding in health, business and beyond. Bryant Assistant Professor of Information systems and analytics ML Tlachac, Ph.D., discussed the pervasiveness of mental health disorders and how passive sensing modalities – such as text messages – can be leveraged for mental health assessments. Staying in the health care field, Nafees Qamar, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the health informatics program, spoke about an e-health solution that could improve immunization coverage for children since 10 to 30 percent of children in developing countries do not receive routine vaccines, leading to 700,000 annual deaths.
Let’s move on to climate change, professor and director of the department of information systems and analysis Su Hong Li, Ph.D., provided participants with an analysis of how sadness and anger were the most prevalent emotions in social media conversations regarding extreme weather events of the past 10 years. Coming back to AI, associate professor and Mathematics and economics Director of the department Gao NiuPh.D., explored the practical applications of AI in everyday scenarios and explained how colleges and universities can effectively adapt to the technological paradigm shift.
Delivering the closing speech of the conference, the Provost Rupendra Paliwal, Ph.D., announced the winners of the student research presentations. In the undergraduate category, Connor Emery ’24 took first place with his study on climate change conversations before, during and after the pandemic. After Emery, there was a three-way tie for second place that included Jeffrey Cabral ’24 and his presentation on improving NFL playoff predictions with explainable AI, Christian Savastano and his analysis on the disclosure rule Climate Change of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and David Bryce ’24. and his research on music generation techniques via deep learning and the implications of AI in the music industry. Third place went to Ryan Giammarco ’24 and his study on understanding public reaction to major U.S. environmental policies through the social media platform X.
In the graduate category, Sabrina Rao ’24 and Nafise Aalipour tied for first place. Rao’s study used machine learning algorithms to assess whether a candidate will be accepted for a job, while Aalipour’s research compared short-term momentum and long-term reversal risk-adjusted returns term in investment strategies. Liam Smith ’23, ’24 came in second with his analysis and predictions on civilian complaints against the New York Police Department, and Kejing Hu – with co-presenters Gao Yang and Yihao Li – finished third with a presentation of their credit scoring model that improves lenders’ ability to assess the creditworthiness of underserved small businesses.
Paliwal explained that he and Madan AnnavarjulaPh.D., dean of Bryant’s College of Business, speaks often about providing students with an education that goes beyond books and boundaries by engaging them in experiential learning and an interdisciplinary curriculum.
“Analysis is about crossing different disciplines and sectors,” Paliwal concluded. “I hope you had a wonderful day of conversation, meeting like-minded people, learning, and finding mentors and mentees.”