At Newman University, we mean business. But not just any business — smarter business.
On Wednesday, March 30, the Newman University School of Business hosted a meet and greet social hour with local sponsors: Koch Industries and Textron — two of Wichita’s leading employers.
Following the social, a data analytics panelist discussion was held by five professional data analysts. The individuals of top businesses in and around the Wichita area discussed their experiences in solving difficult questions businesses face today to help them run smarter businesses.
A field of problem solvers
Solving business’ toughest problems always starts with great questions — and a great question does not have to be a complex question.
One of the data analytics panelists, Jennifer Akers of Delta Bravo AI, recalled having to help her client reduce departmental waste and along the way she discovered that drill bits made up a large portion of the spending. She knew there was a way to cut costs on drill bits, but how?
She then formulated the money-saving question: Which drill bits are most cost effective for the company’s various stations?
After gathering data on the performance of several drill bits used on different types of materials used by the company, Akers was able to determine the exact drill bit that would be best for the job while reducing labor time and waste. The answer to this question resulted in the company deciding to switch to different drill bits, saving the company likely tens of thousands of dollars.
Each of the other panelists traded stories on how his or her role as data analysts helped shape companies into smarter businesses and took questions from Newman business school students. Many of these students major in data analytics while others major in accounting, finance, marketing or other business programs and take data analytics courses to complement their major.
A business experience to repeat
Newman University Data Analytics Professor David Cochran, one of the organizers of the event, posted about the experience on Facebook.
“What a blast it was to host tonight’s gathering of data professionals on the Newman campus,” Cochran wrote. “The panel discussion was seriously fantastic. Even better: the many rich conversations with students, panelists, and guests before and after. Best of all: having recent grads show up as newly minted data professionals themselves. Truly a highlight of 2022. We’ll do it again.”
MBA Business Analytics student Kameron Frame was one of several Newman students at the event.
“There is just an endless array of opportunities in the field of data analytics,” Frame said. “Whether you want to be a data scientist, data engineer, work with Artificial Intelligence, or a data analyst that focuses on visual models, these are all possibilities with a data analytics degree.”
Thanks to all of the data professionals panelists who took time to enlighten Newman students during the School of Business event:
- Khanh Pham, Supervisor, Data Analytics, INTRUST Bank
- Jennifer Akers, Senior Data Scientist, Delta Bravo AI
- Joy Eakins, President, Cornerstone Data Group
- Travis Scheopner, Data and Analytics Talent Development Program Manager, Koch Industries
- Jacob Lynn, Manager, IT Data & Analytics, Textron Aviation
Interested in Data Analytics?
Newman University’s Bachelor of Science in Business Data Analytics will prepare you to stand out as a skilled data analyst and professional communicator.
