On Friday, September 13th, the OPIM Department hosted its semi-annual Management Information Systems (MIS) Meet and Greet. The event was for students studying MIS, interested in the MIS major, or participating in the Analytics minor. It was a perfect opportunity to learn more about the OPIM Department and OPIM Innovate. There was also ice cream for everyone who attended.

At the Meet and Greet, which was hosted in the Gladstein Research Lab, many emerging technologies were out for display and available to use. This prompted many business-undecided and MIS majors to explore the different tools that may be available to them in their future career paths.

Other than testing out the tech and grabbing some goodies, the MIS Meet and Greet became a place for insightful conversation between MIS majors, Innovate lab technicians, and other students. As stated by Sarah Fletcher (MIS ’22), “I had a lot of fun talking to the OPIM Innovate workers about 3D printing and hydroponics.”

This message also rang true for Vaughn Nengle (Physics ’20), who just recently became an Innovate lab technician with a focus on the 3D printing track. “I was happy to test my knowledge and show others how to work the 3D printing equipment. Even though I could only provide a quick demo, it felt great knowing that I could help cultivate another person’s interest in 3D printing.”

We thank everyone for coming to the Meet and Greet. We hope you had a great time!

On Tuesday, September 10th, the Information Management Association (IMA) and Student Health and Wellness hosted a pet therapy event in the School of Business. There, volunteers from Tails of Joy, a nonprofit pet therapy organization in Avon, CT, brought in their friendly pups to help students unwind from their busy schedules. Every hour, a new dog would come in to interact with the students, giving everyone the opportunity to de-stress with more than one furry friend. Seneca, displayed on the left, was one of the many therapy dogs that came to visit.

According to IMA President Victoria Trautman, providing students with the opportunity to take a moment of self-care was a truly enlightening experience. “We often disregard our needs when there is so much expected of us,” she said. “Just seeing everyone so recharged after a few moments of downtime proves that taking care of ourselves should always be our first priority.” As for the student experience, Riley Wolcheski, a freshman Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major, said that the pet therapy event brightened her day. “When I got here, I instantly felt better. I had a rough day–I’ve been having a stressful week–but just petting the dog was enough.”

We thank Student Health and Wellness, as well as the pups from Tails of Joy, for allowing IMA to put this together.

On Wednesday, September 11th, the Operations and Information Management Department hosted a Careers in Analytics panel, sponsored by Hanover Insurance. At the panel, professionals from various career fields and levels of experience came to speak with students regarding the impact data analytics has on their individual industries. The lineup consisted of Craig Calvert (Associate Professor, OPIM Department) and UConn graduates Zaineb Haroon (DTLP Specialist, United Technologies), Mahiza Dalal (Business Tech Analyst, Deloitte), and Nofel Khan (ETL Specialist, Marcum LLP). Joining these panelists were also Derek Winkler, Associate Vice President of Data Science, and Kevin Pray, Vice President of Innovation, from Hanover Insurance.

Throughout the Careers in Analytics panel, the general consensus among all speakers was that analytics has revolutionized business processes. Good data has the ability to drive business decisions, create the foundation for valuable discussions, and guide professionals during times of uncertainty. Data especially works well with a guiding question or business problem, which is where analytics professionals come into play. “At the end of the day,” said Derek Winkler, “you need to see what the ultimate business impact is.” Otherwise, the data collected and observed may be useless.

As for the scope of data analytics, both Zaineb Haroon and Craig Calvert gave valuable insight with regard to career expectations and opportunities. “You’re going to learn a lot [when you start working],” said Zaineb Haroon. “Every company has their own practices and their own tools–I would just keep an open mind.” Calvert, to continue the discussion, made it a point to emphasize that “[data] is everywhere” and that successful data analysis can be done with even the most basic tooling. “Especially with data visualization, every time you touch Excel and make charts, you’re presenting data in some format,” he said. Mahiza Dalal, however, still suggested students learn how to use Splunk, Qlik Sense, user behavior analytics tools, and Tableau to expand their analytics skillset.

To close the panel discussion, Derek Winkler and Jonathan Moore introduced the audience to the Hanover Image Analytics Challenge. The challenge, which can be pursued through a one-credit course or as an extracurricular project, presents students with the opportunity to attend free analytics workshops and get paid. All a student has to do is build an interdisciplinary team of four and present their final solution to the Hanover team on November 20th.

For more information on the Hanover Image Analytics Challenge, please attend the kick-off on September 18th or visit the Image Analytics Challenge homepage.