1. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
EXPOSING STUDENTS TO PRACTICE WITH A
CASE COMPETITION
POLLY MITCHELL-GUTHRIE
INFORMS ANNUAL MEETING, 12 NOVEMBER 2014

2. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
AGENDA
Creating a Student Case Competition
Polly Mitchell-Guthrie
Choosing Case Studies and Judging Submissions
Jeff Day
Creating Big Industry Success Cases through Academic-Industry Collaboration in
Business Analytics
Young Jae Jang
Great Opportunity for Students in Business Analytics
Shin Woong Sung and Jae Ryong Yeo

3. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
WHERE ARE THE UNICORNS?
(Image credit: photo by Arvind Grover// attribution by creative commons)
• Some people call data scientists
unicorns
• Questioning – do they really exist?
• Mythology because of their unique
skill set

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CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
UNICORNS HAVE FOUR LEGS
(Image credit: photo by Rob Boudon/ /attribution by creative commons)

5. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND
• Analytical skills

6. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND
• Analytical skills
• Programming skills

7. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND
• Analytical skills
• Programming skills
• Business acumen

8. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
FOUR LEGS ARE HARD TO FIND….SO IS A HORN!
• Analytical skills
• Programming skills
• Business acumen
• Communication skills
• Curiosity
• Creativity
• Discipline

9. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
WHY DID WE LAUNCH THE COMPETITION?
• To highlight need for balance of skills
• To help facilitate learning about practice at the conference
• To create opportunity for experience of practice

10. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
APPLICATION PROCESS
Complete applications include:
• Statement of Work
• Resume/CV
• 3 short answer questions
Components to prepare:
• Review guidelines and criteria
• Download case study
• Participate in discussion forum

11. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
APPLICATION PROCESS

12. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
APPLICATION PROCESS
• You can submit questions
to the characters in the
case study
• Open February 1-13,
2015

13. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
BENEFITS FOR WINNERS
First Place
• Expenses paid for Analytics
Conference
• Sponsorship for INFORMS
Professional Colloquium
Honorable Mentions
• Justification to apply elsewhere for
funding for Analytics Conference
• Recommendation for INFORMS
Professional Colloquium
All winners
• Opportunity to present poster of their Statement of Work

14. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
2013 HONORABLE MENTION SHIN WOONG SUNG/KAIST

15. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
BENEFITS FOR WINNERS
First Place
• Expenses paid for Analytics
Conference
• Sponsorship for INFORMS
Professional Colloquium
Honorable Mentions
• Justification to apply elsewhere for
funding for Analytics Conference
• Recommendation for INFORMS
Professional Colloquium
All winners
• Opportunity to present poster of their Statement of Work
• Recognition and publicity
• Resume builder

16. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
RECOGNITION OF WINNERS
• All winners names and universities
listed on INFORMS website
• Winning submissions listed with
their name

17. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
PUBLICITY ABOUT WINNERS
• Interview with 2013 winner
Alex Akulov

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CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
PUBLICITY ABOUT WINNERS
• Blurb in Analytics Magazine newsletter

19. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
BENEFITS FOR WINNERS
First Place
• Expenses paid for Analytics
Conference
• Sponsorship for INFORMS
Professional Colloquium
Honorable Mentions
• Justification to apply elsewhere for
funding for Analytics Conference
• Recommendation for INFORMS
Professional Colloquium
All winners
• Opportunity to present poster of their Statement of Work
• Publicity
• Resume builder
• Chance to learn how case study was really solved

20. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
2014 WINNERS AND JUDGES

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CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
ARE YOU A UNICORN CROSSING?
(Image credit: photo by rumpleteaser// attribution by creative commons)
• Take a chance and let us know you are crossing the road – APPLY!

22. Copyr ight © 2014, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reser ved.
CREATING A
STUDENT CASE
COMPETITION
2013 WINNER ALEX AKULOV
As a winner of SAS and INFORMS Student Analytical Scholar Competition, I
would like to thank the organizers and sponsors of this award for providing me
with the opportunity to get a glimpse into the real world analytics problems.
Winning this award has not only given me an additional resume credential, but
also connected me with local analytics professionals. Aside from the excitement
of INFORMS Analytics Conference, this summer I was also invited to speak at
Vancouver Analytics Group meeting, where I shared learning lessons from
writing a winning consulting proposal. This has raised my profile and led to
making important employment connections. I would encourage the sponsors to
continue putting on competitions like Student Analytical Scholar, as these
contests have a direct positive effect on students, encouraging them to learn
new skills through challenging real world problems.