Kendall Campus Launches Data Analytics Lab
Miami Dade College launched a data analytics lab at Kendall Campus to offer students hands-on experience in the growing information gathering industry.
The center, which launched in November and is 3,572 sq. ft., features a conference room, a tutoring and research lab, instructional space with 40 computers, three 120-inch presentation screens and a lounge area.
Its aim is to provide students pursuing degrees in data analytics and business intelligence—fields that deal with arranging, assessing and interpreting data—with technology that can handle complex calculations and data transactions and offer hands-on experience.
“The thing that [students] often lack is that they will go to class, they’ll pass a certification exam, but they don’t have any real world experience,” said Ernesto Lee, an assistant professor at the School of Engineering +Technology & Design (EnTech & Design) at Kendall Campus. “This center is intended to bridge the gap.
Courses such as Intermediate Analytics, Power BI Data Preparation, Power BI Data Visualization, Database Concepts Design and Introduction to C++ Programming are being taught in the center’s instructional space.
Through partnerships with companies like Riipen, a platform that connects learners with businesses that provide learning opportunities for novices, students are matched with real-world industry projects to hone the skills they’ve learned in the classroom.
Participating businesses share their data with students so they can analyze and assist them in maximizing the efficiency and revenue of their companies.
Carlos Marquez, founder and owner of Marquee Logistics, a flatbed transportation company based in Hollywood, Florida, volunteered data from his business, such as mileage and fuel consumption, for Lee’s students to analyze.
“That’s where it gets difficult in this business because you have a lot of data coming from different sources, [including] fuel, factories, electronic logging [and] the company that I use to manage day-to-day operations,” Marquez said. “They all collect different information and I can analyze each one individually, but the power is in combining them; that’s where you get deeper insights into the business.”
The lab will also serve as a hub for college-wide data analytics events, such as Datathon—an annual event formerly hosted at Wolfson Campus’ Business Innovation & Technology Center where students complete a data analysis project together—and Business Intelligence Day—an event geared toward introducing high school students to data analytics through keynote speakers and hands-on computer activities.
For more information about the data analytics lab, contact Annet Cedeno at (305) 237-2806 or at acedenos@mdc.edu or visit the lab in Room 6306.
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