The first Business Data Analytics Competition (BDAC) in the School of Business, Management and Economics (BMEc) took place on Wednesday 18 April, with students being challenged to “excel at Excel”.
The event opened with a keynote speech by Simon Greenman, a Sussex alumnus and expert in the application of artificial intelligence in businesses.
Forty-two students in 14 teams were then given just two hours to answer multiple business intelligence questions designed to improve managerial decision making in a virtual company using the available data.
A panel of judges, including Dr Mo Moeini (Lecturer in Information Systems), Prof Hans van der Heijden (Deputy Head of School), and Teaching Fellow Claire Tingsager evaluated the analyses submitted by the teams and shortlisted six teams to present their work.
Winners
Following the presentations, the judges announced the winners of each of these three categories:
- Grand Prize (£100 each): Elodie Muchembled, Júlia Számely and Anna Számely
- Best Business Analytics Answers (£50 each): Ryan Murphy, Emir Afiya and Mikey Allen
- Best Decision Making Dashboard Design (£50 each): Nor Atiqah Binti Bedu, Syaza Athirah Binti Zulkiflee and Putri Natasya Balqis Binti Nazmi
Students were invited to provide feedback after the competition, with many of them referring to their teamwork in analysing a business data set as a unique experience. Respondents also highlighted the opportunity to improve their Excel skills and gain realistic experience of a practical business challenge.
The organising team is planning to run the second BDAC in the next academic year.