Last semester, a team of four Goizueta Business School students entered Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business Data4Good Case Competition. The group comprised of students enrolled in the school’s dual programs encompassing both the undergraduate Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and the MS in Business Analytics degrees. Tagging themselves “Data Swoop,” the team was one of 243 undergraduate and graduate teams from across the country to compete the contest. Team Data Swoop competed in the eastern division, which included teams from school’s stretching from Maine to Florida, and it won in the undergraduate category. In addition to bragging rights and $2000, the regional win qualified Data Swoop to take part in the national competition. The week before Thanksgiving, the team presented its strategy at Purdue’s campus in Indiana where they ultimately took home both the national title in the undergraduate category and an additional $5000 in prize money.
“Our success in the competition would not have been possible without the invaluable lessons learned at the intersection of Goizueta’s undergraduate business degree and MS in Business Analytics programs,” says Andy (Khang) Dang 25BBA 25MSBA, a Data Swoop team member. “The Business Analytics program equipped us with the technical skills and methodologies to tackle complex challenges, while the undergraduate program prepared us to think critically about stakeholders and strategic decision-making. These complementary skill sets were instrumental in achieving this accomplishment.” Jason Evans 25BBA 25MSBA, Ian Poe 25BBA 25MSBA, and Zetao “Tommy” Pan 25BBA 25MSBA rounded out the Data Swoop squad.
“This win is a testament to the quality of our students and the market-relevant skills they acquire through the MS in Business Analytics program,” says Zuzana Hlavacova Gurung, associate dean, specialized masters programs. “We are excited to see students apply their analytics skills to real world business problems and triumph in the competition.”
Data4Good: The Case and The Cause
The client at the center of the case competition was Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors—TAPS—a non-profit organization that, according to its website, provides “compassionate and comprehensive resources to all those grieving a death in the military or veteran community.” As part of its mission, the organization has developed a “survivor journey map” to guide staff in how best to care for bereaved families and help survivors navigate their grief journey. However, creating and updating the survivor journey map is labor-intensive. As a result, the organization’s ability to use the map to connect survivors with the most relevant care is limited.
For the competition, the teams’ task was to leverage “interaction data” between the survivors and the program to improve how the organization offers support to survivors. The teams developed an AI-powered solution that would automatically map survivor survey responses to the existing survivor journey map. The teams also created an innovative methodology that would aggregate and analyze survey data to generate improved versions of the journey map over time.
Data Swoop’s strategy focused on creating customized support programs tailored to the unique needs of survivors and their loved ones. “Their winning edge was balancing technical insights with real-world impact to enhance the mission of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors,” says Nicole Soltau, associate director of marketing and communications for the MS in Business Analytics program.
As part of the competition, teams received free expert training for AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals Certification, access to DataCamp courses, and INFORMS Job Task Analysis (JTA) Training. “This holistic experience not only provides an opportunity to use data, technology, process, and research-based methods to make good decisions for good problems, but also connects participants to leading data analytics organizations through credentialing and networking,” states the Data4Good’s case competition webpage.
Following the win, Dang thanked the organization for “the opportunity to solve a meaningful problem.”
“The competition broadened my perspective on the transformative potential of data science to drive positive societal change, while reaffirming my passion for combining data-driven insights with strategic decision-making to create lasting impact,” says Dang.
A Powerful Academic Combination
Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean and undergraduate program director considers the Data Swoops victory a terrific example of the educational scope of the dual degree program. “The MS in Business Analytics program is built at the intersection of business, data, and technology and shapes cutting-edge business data scientists. Our undergraduate BBA students enter the Business Analytics portion of the program already equipped with foundational core business knowledge and contextual, strategic understanding of data-driven decision analysis,” explains Hershatter.
The joint degree is an incredibly powerful academic combination that clearly prepares students quite well, not just for competition in this instance, but also in making deeply informed and actionable recommendations in a business environment.
Andrea Hershatter, Senior Associate Dean and Undergraduate Program Director
The dual degree allows Goizueta undergraduate business students to complete both degrees in four and a half years rather than the typical four-year undergraduate degree followed by the one-year MS in Business Analytics program. Admission into the program is reserved for current Goizueta undergraduate students who are encouraged to apply during their junior year. The dual-degree students devote their senior year to the business analytics curriculum, after which they return to the undergraduate program to complete their final semester.
Discover how Goizueta’s dual degree programs can equip you with the skills to make an impact. Learn more.
