This story is part of a series on the winners of the 2023 President’s Award for Innovation in Student Learning and Success:
Business and Management Studies professor Nick Farnell was inspired by the old adage ‘show, don’t tell.’
That was the idea behind an innovative project – a project portfolio website – to showcase the complex work of his Business Analytics Post-Graduate program students.
“Although the term ‘business analytics’ is likely familiar to many of us, it can be challenging to describe what kind of work is involved,” explained Farnell. “Borrowing from industries like graphic design, it is much clearer to show the work rather than simply describing it.”
The two-semester post-graduate program, comprised of 12 courses on statistics, strategic decision making, predictive analytics and data ethics, culminates with a capstone course on Practices in Business Analytics which partners student teams with real-world industry projects.
A screenshot of the Business Analytics program capstone project website.
“This website displays the work from the student teams, and highlights their industry partners and key components of the academic program,” said Farnell. “Rather than telling people about the skills, this project portfolio website shows people the solutions, approaches, and tools that students have mastered.”
The project earned Farnell recognition as one of the 2023 recipients of the President’s Award for Innovation in Student Learning and Success.
“Launching a new program like the Business Analytics graduate certificate comes with challenges, and it’s remarkable how quickly Nick has integrated such innovative ideas into the program,” said Al Unwin, Dean of Business and Environment. “The project portfolio website demonstrates a strong commitment to the student experience as a creative tool that provides them with a way to effectively showcase their knowledge.”
“It is great to see that Niagara College encourages staff and faculty to implement new ideas,” said Farnell. “For me it was great to have this project recognized but really the end goal is to recognize the incredible work of students in the Business Analytics post-grad program.”
To support program alumni, the site will be maintained to showcase their work long after graduation. The long-term goal is to leverage the site for student recruitment and to attract new industry partners. The funding will help support the project through new hardware and software.
Farnell looks forward to presenting the idea to others at NC both formally – through special events and conferences at the College including – and informally with his peers. He hopes others are inspired to apply the project format to other areas on campus.
