On the first day of their block week course, Analytics and Leading Change, Master of Science in Applied Analytics students visited Publicis One Group, a French multinational advertising and public relations company. Publicis One Global Head of Analytics Arun Kumar and his team held an informative and engaging lecture on analytics in advertising and marketing industry.
Students were then divided into working groups and assigned a challenging project to help Citigroup find a new U.S. city in which it could launch its public bicycle sharing program, Citi Bike. The groups collaborated and actively worked to put together their recommendations of the suggested city for launching the Citi Bike initiative. Each group then pitched to peers and a judging panel comprised of analytics professionals from Publicis One Group and Columbia faculty. The winning group with the strongest presentation was awarded a Citi Bike Annual Membership.
This innovation challenge provided the students with an opportunity to use analytics in a real-life business situation. More importantly, it gave them a valuable chance to interact with analytics professionals in the advertising and marketing world and understand what their roles, responsibilities, and duties entail. Their expertise and encouraging feedback went a long way in inspiring the students heading towards their career path.
