The University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business will launch an online and synchronous STEM-certified Global Master of Science in Business Analytics and Information Systems (BAIS) in May 2021. Designed for working professionals in India – and other countries in South Asia – who want to earn this graduate degree without leaving their jobs or the region, the cohort-based program is similar to USF’s popular Florida-based Weekend Executive Master of Science in BAIS program. The one-year program includes coursework in data mining, database management, data science programming, big data, and distributed information systems. Applications are now being accepted for the new program. (www.usf.edu/global-msbais)
Prof Moez Limayem, Dean of the Muma College of Business, stresses that the admission requirements, curriculum, faculty, course delivery and degree awarded will be identical to those of the on-campus program. “USF is an AACSB-accredited research university and our faculty are known experts in the areas of business analytics, artificial intelligence, decision sciences and many of the key business areas that this program emphasizes. Students not only master important material they need for jobs now, but they can also master concepts and learn how to prepare themselves for the jobs of tomorrow,” says Dean Limayem. (AACSB is the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a world renowned professional accreditation body in the field of business education at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral level.)
Giving details of this new option, Prof Kaushik Dutta, director of the USF Muma College of Business School of Information Systems and Management, says the program will be offered fully online, over three semesters, and most importantly, in real time, on weekends during evening hours in Indian Standard Time.
“Faculty in Florida will conduct online classes live for students in India, using state-of-the-art video conferencing technology. This means that working professionals throughout India will be able to be part of live virtual classrooms where they can interact with the faculty real-time.”
Thomas Stablein, director of Muma’s weekend program in Tampa and now also the academic director for the global program, reveals that feedback from Florida-based students, many of Indian origin, helped shape the new global program. “Students in our weekend program in Tampa say they have seen job opportunities multiply as a result of acquiring advanced data analytics competencies that come with completing this STEM-certified program,” says Stablein.
One such student, Sutama Mitra, Associate Director at Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation in Tampa, says: “As a mid-career professional, I am transitioning to more managerial or leadership roles with new opportunities, more challenging work, and new responsibilities in the business analytics domain. USF’s Weekend Executive MS BAIS degree provided me an excellent platform to upgrade my skills as the curriculum covers both the technology related to business analytics and the managerial aspects of implementing these technologies in organizations. This program has a unique blend of both technology and leadership courses in the business analytics domain.”
Another Florida-based alum of the program, Rameez Badri, Business Integration Lead at Citibank, credits it with giving him the “unique set of skills that are required in the Business Analytics space in today’s world.” Rajni Sachan, Director, Intelligent Automation at Cognizant, in the Tampa Bay area, says she chose this program after extensive research, for its “versatile curriculum in business intelligence and information systems which was promising for my future career.”
Interestingly, the program in India will be managed by Hyderabad-based Lajpat Roy, a USF alum who graduated from the on-campus BAIS program in 2003 and is a senior manager with Microsoft in India. “Had I not pursued a USF MS BAIS degree, I am sure I would not have had the global opportunities and success at Microsoft that I have had,” he asserts. “The Business Analytics hard skills I gained at USF have been the key differentiator between me and my peers and is responsible for my career trajectory.”
Responding to Roy’s comment, Dr. Kiki Caruson, Interim Vice President for USF World, says: “We are extremely proud of our alumni who hail from India and we look forward to welcoming more students to the USF community through this innovative program. USF is a preeminent, global research university dedicated to providing students with the highest caliber learning experience – whether it be in-person or online. We are very excited to be able to offer professionals across India, and beyond, the opportunity to enhance their skill set with cutting edge coursework in business analytics and information systems from USF’s Muma College of Business.”
