“Know your resources” was our motto when I tutored during undergrad. In the first session with tutees, we would review the resources available so students could learn how to best succeed.
As I transitioned into grad school at the Institute for Advanced Analytics (IAA), I was placed back into the role of a student and learned about the types of resources available to us. The IAA provides various unique resources to help students succeed in this program, including access to training tools and certifications, individualized coaching sessions, and group work with fellow students.
The IAA provides students with a wide range of training tools and certification opportunities. For example, before the program started, we gained access to Data Camp, which had coding training videos and tutorials for R and Python. Having this pre-program preparation helped us be ready for the summer introductory courses that included a lot of coding. Similarly, the program provides us with several certifications that we can pursue to enhance our resumes for the interview season. These certifications include the Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer, Tableau Desktop Specialist, and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.
In addition to training and certification opportunities, another unique resource available to students is individualized coaching sessions to help students work on personal and professional development. Students are assigned a coach they will work with for the remainder of the program. Having a specific coach allows the student to build trust with their coach. During the sessions, the students can discuss the challenges that they face during the program. Some challenges include learning your leadership style, dealing with team conflicts, and processing peer feedback.
Peers are another great resource in the IAA because we can share our knowledge and experience. The program is designed so that we can do assignments together and work on teams. The group work includes homework reports, group presentations, and a practicum project. One of the many benefits of working in teams is learning from our fellow teammates. Students come from a variety of different academic backgrounds, which helps teams have diverse viewpoints and strengthens analytical thinking. For the class of 2025, the student backgrounds include:
- 39% from mathematics and statistics
- 28% from economics, finance, and business
- 22% from engineering and science
- 11% from other academic fields
Working on teams also benefits us because we learn to give and receive feedback. At the end of each module, we provide our team feedback on how they can improve their work. These improvements include topics related to self-management, relationships, and communication. This feedback can help us grow by learning about blindspots or areas where we can grow.
I am grateful to “know our resources” because these will help us grow professionally, develop deeper analytical skills, and build lasting relationships.
Columnist: Alison Bean de Hernandez