Miami Herbert Business School: Bridging Industry Gap with Up-To-Date Curriculum in Data Science and Analytics

The University of Miami, Patti, and Allan Herbert Business School are world-known for revolutionary thinking and principled leadership to redefine business education in the 21^st century. The university believes that principled leaders should apply the concepts of sustainable growth, equitable development as well as and ethical business. Miami Herbert Business School has earned accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges; Schools Commission on Colleges and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; EQUIS, which recognizes business schools that are trying to make an impact beyond their domestic frontier; and the Education Quality Accreditation Agency (EQUAA), whose mission is to increase the academic quality of programs, institutes, careers, faculties, and universities, and other educational units in Latin America and the world. Dr. Doug Lehmann, Associate Professor of Professional Practice and Director, Master of Science in Business Analytics, had a conversation on behalf of The University of Miami Herbert Business School and enlightened us on how the Business School is dedicated to creating an up-to-date curriculum that is in sync with the fast-paced evolving industry.  

Transforming Society with Business Ideas

Miami Herbert Business School was founded in 1929 as a leader in preparing individuals and organizations to excel in the complex, dynamic and interconnected world of global business. It is dedicated to developing innovative ideas and principled leaders that transform global business and society. The Business School is determined to bridge a gap across borders, tackling fundamental business and social challenges as well as fostering entrepreneurship across the region. It offers multiple degrees to students such as undergraduate business, full-time MBA, executive MBA, doctoral programs, non-degree executive education programs, and specialized 10-month master’s programs in accounting, business analytics, finance, health administration, international business, leadership, taxation as well as a sustainable business. Miami Herbert Business School has a mission to develop innovative ideas and principled leaders that transform global business and society. The school is a thought leader, that redefines business knowledge and practice in the broadest possible terms, shapes business scholarship, and how business is conceived to set a standard for business education.  

Eminent Professor with Rich Knowledge

Dr. Doug Lehmann teaches Data Science and Analytics at different levels in the Business School. He considers himself to be a professor first and a lifelong learner because a never-ending self-study is essential to adapt to the fast-changing and evolving field. This feature has originally attracted him to the current position. Dr. Lehmann has served as a Director of the MSBA program and the Deloitte Institute for Research and Practice in Analytics (DIRPA). He is deeply involved in curriculum development and coordinating experiential learning opportunities. The Advisory Council provides tremendous help on both issues. The insights give the faculty an insider’s look at industry trends that are incorporated into the curriculum to ensure satisfying the needs of the market. DIRPA, was launched with a gift from Deloitte that allows the council members to complement the curriculum with mentorship opportunities, workshops, preparations for multiple industry certifications, industry speaker series, a student analytics club, and many more. DIRPA also supports faculty research or training in analytics through various funding opportunities and research awards. The practical training has an immediate effect on the curriculum of Miami Herbert Business School.  

Up-to-Date Curriculum in Data Science

The MS in Business Analytics (+MSBA) program, maintains a dynamic curriculum that blends the theory and application of analytics and Data Science with elective space for specialization in an area of interest. The core coursework tends to be rigorous with topics in computing and data visualization, optimization, predictive analytics, and machine learning. It is also focused on communication and career development, all with an eye on developing business solutions and delivering value to today’s employer. Students are encouraged to utilize the elective space to tailor their curriculum to diverse career goals in the future. Some students opt for a deeper dive into Data Science and machine learning while some other students select application areas like consulting, finance, technology, or marketing. The curriculum culminates with a required course in experiential learning. This is provided through an internship or capstone project where students are required to work through a real business problem with an employer as a partner. This real-world experience is an integral component of student learning, allowing them to use the classroom methods as well as utilize those in solving complicated business problems. Miami Herbert Business School provides a hands-on approach within a classroom environment. Students need to work with data every day to implement and interpret various analytics methods. Performance is often assessed through course projects that emphasize applications, interpretation, and communication of complex analytical models, rather than written examinations. These projects are run in conjunction with an industry partner as hackathon-style competitions.  

Competitive Edge in Miami

The location provides a competitive edge to Miami Herbert Business School’s MS in Business Analytics program. It is located at the crossroads of America as well as capitalizing on Miami’s current situation with the FinTech migration. The start-up community in Miami is thriving. The international diversity of the student population and faculty adds a rich texture to the learning experience in a top business school in America. The up-to-date curriculum is ever-changing to meet the demands of the industry with the help of employer partners. The curriculum empowers students to make principled and data-inspired business decisions. Miami Herbert Business School maintains a student-first mindset with an active faculty committed to ensuring the best experiences for the students. They engaged alumni are eager to connect with students as well as a career and professional development program designed to help students improve in a marketplace. These multiple efforts have led to several world rankings for the program.  

Experiential Learning over Traditional Learning

Some things are difficult for teachers to replicate in a classroom environment. Experiential learning is integrated into the curriculum for practical experience. It is mandatory for students to complete an analytics internship or capstone project. This experience is essential for students to develop and observe analytics in action while solving real-life problems. A good project enhances the technical skills as well as the business acumen and communication of students.  

Data: Inspiring the Future

Data inspire each and every student and faculty in Miami Herbert Business School. Recently, Ginger Baxter who is the Assistant Dean of Career Advancement spoke at the inaugural Data Science Connect Conference for K12 education. Nearly 800 high school students showed up to learn about Data Science and lucrative career opportunities in the field.  

Prominent Recognition through Students

The MSBA program was recognized for its creative and innovative approach to preparing students for their future careers by merging science and analytics. ChaseDream ranked the specialized master’s program tied for eighth (up to three slots from the previous year) and among the 10 best in the world to teach students how to translate abstract data into meaningful information in predicting consumer behavior, revenue, and expenses. The Business school is proud of the career success that the graduates have had as well as the employer feedback. Julio Albornoz, Manager at KLX Aerospace (now Boeing) mentioned, “We made the decision to hire [your student, Jiachen]. She was far and away from the best candidate and I look forward to working with her and getting my team to the next level. You guys are doing a great job with these students.”  

Adapting to Industry Needs

Industry moves faster than academia and analytics are evolving rapidly. Miami Herbert Business School is committed to keeping an up-to-date and relevant curriculum that stays in tune with the current industry demands. This requires a faculty to continuously learn new tools and technologies. This learning lesson can be a challenging yet fun one.  

Analytics Education: Revolutionising with Specialisations

The strong demand from the industry for professionals skilled in data and analytics with the ability to translate to the business case will continue to push analytics education forward. Analytics education will expand into other programs while becoming a mainstay in traditional business areas like finance, accounting, and marketing. The need for professionals competent in working with data is growing outside of traditional Data Science and analytics roles. The programs will distinguish themselves by specializing in multiple areas of the Data Science pipeline due to the maturity and job roles being defined and specialized.