The Higher Education Review

Over the years, data science has become a domain that has garnered a lot of international attention. In the last three years, there has been a 37 percent hiring increase for data science professionals. Purdue Universityis a public land-grant institution located in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, offering top-notch educational programs in data science.

Purdue University has been recognized by Fast Company in its annual ranking of the problem-solving top 50 global companies, non-profits, government agencies, and universities, alongside prestigious institutions like OpenAI and NASA. Additionally, Purdue consistently ranks among the top public universities and best value universities, attracting some of the best talent to its programs. "Purdue University was also recently awarded the INFORMS UPS George D. Smith Prize which recognizes its comprehensive educational approach and reaffirms its bold move to reimagine business education around business analytics and integration with STEM disciplines", says Mohit Tawarmalani, Professor of Management,Purdue University.

Purdue has a rich history of 153 years in education, currently hosting more than 50,000 students.The business school'sgraduate program in Business Analytics and Information Management launched in 2016 and has experienced steady growth, with enrollment increasing from 21 students to 103 in 2022. In Fall 2022, the business schoolinaugurated its undergraduate program in Business Analytics and Information Management with more than180 students, and its data analytics concentration has also seen remarkable growth, with student numbers increasing from 17 in Fall 2018 to 169 in 2022. Additionally, Purdue University also offers an online graduate program with an enrollment of over 100 students.

Aspiring Academic Excellence
Purdue University's Daniels School of Business is renowned for its analytical rigor, progressive design, and flexible delivery. The school provides challenging course content that addresses the diverse needs of its learners. Its courses emphasize algorithmic reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Classes are taught by faculty with interdisciplinary training and

are informed by their research accomplishments in various specialized areas within science, engineering, business, and economics.

The Daniels School of Business believes that the interdisciplinary roots of business education blend seamlessly with its approach, and it strives to train its students to be bold, capable of driving change, and persuasive in their analytic reasoning. TheBusiness Analytics and Information Management programs also actively promote and encourage the use of analytics to enhance human dignity and contribute to the betterment of society.

Adding more about the uniqueness of the programs, Mohit Tawarmalani says, "Our programs are supported by the Krenicki Center for Business Analytics & Machine Learning and collaborative engagements with our corporate partners. We provide numerous practical experiences, including data dives and case studies, industry practicums and paid project opportunities, as well as immersive labs and classrooms co-taught and led by our faculty and experienced company executives".

"The universityhas a rich history of 153 years in education, currently hosting more than 50,000 students"

Purdue's Daniels School of Business is dedicated to fostering strong connections between higher education and industry through meaningful partnerships. One such example is its collaboration with Kearney and the Office of Partnerships to launch an industry practicum in Fall 2022.

Through this program, students worked on client projects defined in collaboration with Kearney's Partner and Global Co-Lead of Kearney Analytics, while being mentored by both Kearney consultants and Purdue faculty. Another successful partnership is its engagement with Accenture, where over 20 students with interdisciplinary knowledge worked on various paid projects for four prominent Accenture clients in 2022.

The outstanding results obtained from these projects were highly appreciated by Accenture and its clients. The Daniels School of Business leverage sits connections with more than 60 corporate partners to bring real-world data analytics projects to its students. Students have the opportunity to present their findings at professional conferences such as the INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, UseR!, and the Open Data Science Conference. To encourage teamwork and to spur healthy competition, the school organizes a Future Edelman award, where the winner is

determined based on short professional videos in which student teams showcase their industrial projects. These types of experiences are abundant at the school, and it is constantly exploring creative ways to deepen its engagement with industry in the fields of digitization, analytics, and data science.

Making World-Class Education More Accessible
Daniels School of Business courses are designed to provide a research-inspired, algorithmic thinking approach, and practical hands-on experiences. This education is further enhanced by the school's world-class faculty, who are among the best in their fields. Two key reasons for its faculty excellence are an emphasis on faculty governance and ownership of pedagogy and programs, andafocus on hiring researchers, teachers, and practitioners who bring expertise and innovation to their work.


Mohit Tawarmalani, Professor of Management

Even when offering world-class education, the school aspires to be accessible for students from all walks of life and to ensure this, Purdue is known internationally to keep tuition costs as low as possible. Adding more about the scholarship opportunities its studentcan avail, Matthew Lanham, Clinical Assistant Professor of Management says, "For our graduate programs, such as our BAIM master's program, we are very competitive in the market and our location helps keep additional housing costs much lower than others.

Extraordinary students who are admitted to the MSBAIM program also have the opportunity to avail merit-based scholarships, which can reach up to $15,000".Purdue University is embarking on an exciting new initiative to revolutionize business education by preparing leaders who are adept at navigating technologically complex digital ecosystems, driving the data revolution, and commercializing bold, new ideas. And in the near term, the business school will introduce innovative changes to its graduate program, including an additional month dedicated to developing professional portfolios. Additionally, the school is expanding its partnership with Accenture and its clients to offer paid project opportunities for the students and is exploring possibilities to replicate this experience with other companies for research engagement opportunities.