The Saint Mary’s community is pleased to announce that it has received an Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will be used to launch the university’s Center for Business Analytics.
Faculty, staff, and administration worked tirelessly to secure the grant since March and learned the university would be a recipient of the $400,000 grant in September.
With business analytics being among the most sought-after majors and programs within the School of Business and Technology, Saint Mary’s leaders see launching the Center for Business Analytics as an opportunity to embrace the university’s goals to build distinctive, mission-aligned programs that raise our visibility.
“This is very exciting as we look at what’s next for Saint Mary’s when it comes to areas of study that focus on technology, business intelligence, and artificial intelligence and how we can raise our profile and be seen as thought leaders in those areas,” said Michelle Wieser, dean of the School of Business and Technology.
According to Michael Ratajczyk, program director for the M.S. and B.S. Business Intelligence and Data Analytics program and associate professor in the School of Business and Technology, the Center for Business Analytics will focus on two main areas: workforce development and strengthening the regional economy.
“The center will focus on providing workshops, seminars, and webinars from industry leaders and experts, and will also partner with regional businesses to provide vocational training opportunities for our students,” Ratajczyk said. “We see this as a win-win for our students and the communities we have campuses in.”
With the NSF grant secured, Ratajczyk says the university is positioned to pursue grants to help move the Center for Business Analytics forward.
“The NSF saw the vision behind the center to be very strong and they loved our project,” he said. “There is an expectation that we will be applying for more NSF grants.”
Efforts are underway to begin the launch of the Center for Business Analytics. Questions about the center and the process of the launch can be directed to Ratajczyk.
