The AIS Speaker Series
The AIS Speaker Series
I was unsure of what I had wanted to declare my major for within Fox since I began attending. However, when I was leaning one way or another, I would attend the majors specific SPO meetings to find out more information about what the major was actually like. None of the SPOs I had went to were more helpful than the Speaker Series of AIS. Last year I had only attended a handful, but this semester, being a full member, I took full advantage. The speakers were people in the industry discussing things that we were learning in our current courses. While I had enjoyed them last year, being able to better understand the topics discussed made the meetings more intriguing than they already were.
This semester I had enjoyed a few speakers in particular that were really interesting. Late in September, AIS was visited by the Vice President of Strategy at the Philadelphia 76ers, Sergi Oliva. Obviously, his position requires a great deal of experience in data analytics. Being an enormous 76ers fan, I found it even more interesting to hear about my favorite team behind the scenes. He discussed how the NBA is shifting much more towards analytics to make decision, following in the footsteps of the MLB. I also particularly enjoyed the meeting with Shawn Levin, Director of Enterprise Business Intelligence at Comcast. He discussed the specific analytical tools he uses in his everyday work environment and how each customers’ data contributes to the overall strategy of the company. Both of these speakers expanded my desire to work in the industry, as well as help myself and the other AIS members in the meetings to learn more about the career paths we are heading towards.