It’s been a great year for Big Data. In spite of speculation about whether the concept was just hype, the fact is that world over we have seen data accumulating at exponentially increasing rates. Figures show that businesses rather than just talking about Big Data, have actually begun investing in Big Data initiatives. What was an impressive $3.2 billion dollar industry in 2010, is slated to grow to as much as $50.1 billion in 2015 (Wikkbon). Without a doubt we know that Big Data analytics is already helping business yield better profits. But it’s not just business that Big Data is revolutionizing. We see pockets of our lives also being impacted in subtle ways. Whether it’s health care, crime, education, better customer service, smart wearables, or smart gadgets that make our daily lives easier, data is transforming the way we live. Today it’s subtle, tomorrow Big Data has the potential to change the way we live, in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.

What this all translates to is this – the Big Data Talent Market is absolutely booming. Experts predict that Big Data will create more than 4.4 million jobs by 2015. But unfortunately there are just not enough people to fill these roles. As more businesses join the Big Data race, this demand will only grow.

Executive Program in Business Analytics

The newly launched MISB Bocconi and Jigsaw Academy Executive Program in Business Analytics (EPBA)- Big Data Analytics for Professionals, is an initiative to bridge this talent gap. We spoke to Gaurav Vohra, CEO of Jigsaw Academy and asked him what prompted them to launch this course. “At Jigsaw Academy we see ourselves as playing a crucial role in identifying and nurturing analytic and Big Data talent worldwide, so that the skill gap reduces. Though many long term business analytics courses have been launched recently, they focus more on traditional techniques and business analytical tools. There was this crucial unserved need for an executive program that teaches conventional analytics tools and Big Data techniques. This is what prompted us to partner with MISB Bocconi to develop the EPBA program.” Gaurav said.

The EPBA program is a ten month executive program which will begin in March 2015. Its curriculum aims to blend general management with Big Data and Business Analytics and focuses on giving participants an understanding of predictive modeling, data mining, Big Data analytics, marketing, operations and risk analytics, among other analytics areas. On completion of the program, participants will be capable of data driven decision making and leadership in industries such as retail, finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and manufacturing.

The program involves 120 hours of in-person training to be held over six(6), three day modules at the MISB Bocconi campus in Powai, Mumbai. In the interim, Jigsaw Academy will also conduct twenty (20) live online classes of three (3) hours each for a total of sixty (60) hours which participants can attend from their home, office, or any other convenient location using an Internet connection. In addition to the live online and in-person classes, participants will also have access to over 100 hours of pre-recorded video lectures on data science and big data analytics for a period of twelve (12) months.

The Strengths

If you ae thinking about picking up some strategic Big Data skills, here is why you can consider the EPBA program:

1. World class faculty: This includes renowned international faculty from SDA Bocconi in Milan, Italy, as well as analytics and big data experts from Jigsaw Academy. SDA Bocconi, the management school of Università Bocconi, is one of the select business schools world-wide to have received, for its MBA program, all three of the prestigious international accreditations—AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System), and AMBA (Association of MBAs).
2. Flexible learning environment: A combination of online and offline classes allows for a flexible learning environment, with participants getting access to not only live online classes but also a digital library with over 100 hours of pre-recorded video lectures that will supplement the campus learning.
3. Opportunity to work on real world case studies: Jigsaw Academy has been collaborating closely with the industry for over 5 years now and have access to proprietary data sets from various companies. These case studies are based on real world business problems and use real business data sets from different industries such as FMCG, retail, Banking, e-commerce, healthcare and many others.
4. Jigsaw Lab: Participants get unrestricted access to the Jigsaw Lab, a cloud-based analytics tool and content library that helps them gain hands- on competence with the most in-demand analytics tools and technologies in the industry including SAS, R, and Hadoop.

Eligibility and Admissions

All those with a Bachelor’s degree and who are proficient in oral and written English, with at least two years of full-time post qualification work experience* will be eligible for the program.*For applicants with exceptional qualification and/or industry experience, an exception to the minimum eligibility criteria may be considered.

Applications are being accepted until February 25, 2015.

Admissions will be conducted on a rolling basis. The faculty panel will review all applications and shortlist candidates based on their profiles. The shortlisted candidates will then be interviewed either in person or over video / telephone.

The program is priced at ₹3,60,000 + service tax which includes tuition fee, learning materials, and twelve (12) month access to the Jigsaw Lab (this does not include Board & lodging for the in person modules held at MISB Bocconi in Mumbai).

For more details about the course please log on to http://jigsawacademy.com/bocconi/