In Spring 2021, Saunders College of Business hosted the Annual Business Analytics Student Competition at Saunders College of Business. Over 120 undergraduate and graduate RIT students across four global campuses competed for $1,750 in cash prizes while gaining experience analyzing real-world data sets.
Four teams were invited for the final presentation day in June 2021, and the results are:
- 1st place: Ansel Amanna, Anna Loso, and Nathan Parker (RIT Rochester campus)
- 2nd place: Fardin Ahsan, Harshit Kumar (RIT Dubai campus) and Dren Gara (RIT Kosovo campus)
- 3rd place: Spencer Tani and Jordan Kiel (RIT Rochester campus)
- 4th place: Haoyang Zhou, Liruijie Fu, Ruiying Jin, Qinnan Wang, and Xudong Chen (RIT Weihai campus)
The 1st place team has agreed to release their submission and presentation, you can download the challenge detail and their submission below:
- 2021 SCB Business Analytics Competition Challenge
- 1st place team's submission
- 1st place team's presentation
To check out the recording of the final presentation day, please click here.
The competition provides an exciting opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds and different analytical skill levels. They will face challenging and meaningful business problems as covered in Saunders analytics programs.
We thank all the participants, judges, and volunteers for making the competition a successful event. Please check back for future competitions coming next year. In the meantime, check out the undergraduate business analytics minor and MS in Business Analytics, delivered by the team behind the #3 nationally ranked Management Information Systems program.
Competition Timeline
April 23, 3:00 p.m. - Competition Kick-off Meeting
- Competition datasets and challenges are made available to registered students
- Email Quang Bui or Victor Perotti to request access to the MyCourses course shell for the competition
May 26, midnight - Competition Submission Deadline
- Submission deadline for the four-page summary
- The submission system is the MyCourses course shell "Business Analytics Competition @ RIT." Email Quang Bui or Victor Perotti for access
Judges for the 1st round are:
- Vic Perotti, professor of MIS. Instructor for MGIS 355 and MGIS 650
- Quang Neo Bui, associate professor of MIS. Instructor for MGIS 355
- Jing Tang, assistant professor of MIS. Instructor for MGIS 650
- Keith Weber, lecturer of MIS. Instructor for MGIS 650
June 19, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. - Presentations and Awards Ceremony
Four teams have been invited to the 2nd round of the competition, where they will present to a panel of industry experts. The four teams are:
- Ansel Amanna, Anna Loso, and Nathan Parker (RIT Rochester campus)
- Spencer Tani and Jordan Kiel (RIT Rochester campus)
- Haoyang Zhou, Liruijie Fu, Ruiying Jin, Qinnan Wang, and Xudong Chen (RIT Weihai campus)
- Fardin Ahsan, Harshit Kumar (RIT Dubai campus) and Dren Gara (RIT Kosovo campus)
The judges are the 2nd round are:
- Mark Rausch, Director of Technical Services, Wegmans
- Andrew Ward, Data Engineer, Enterprise Analytics, L3Harris Technologies
- Mike Della Porta, VP of Business Operations and Technology, Butler/Till
- Manlu Liu, Director of MS in Business Analytics, Saunders College of Business
- Sean Hansen, Department Chair of the MIS, Marketing and Digital Business, Saunders College of Business
The Zoom recording of the event can be found here.
Team Format
- Students can form teams of up to five students to participate in the competition.
- The competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Ph.D. students are not eligible for this competition.
- Students from all majors at RIT are eligible to participate. Global campus students are also eligible.
- Participating students must currently enroll in an academic program at RIT.
Competition Format
The competition will feature two rounds, and both will use the same dataset. The judging for each round will be different.
Round One:
- Registered teams will get access to the competition dataset. Teams will apply different analytical techniques to address the questions posed in the challenge.
- Based on the analysis, each team will prepare a four-page summary of their analysis and answers to the questions.
- A panel of professors and experts will judge the quality of the summary. The panel will recommend a small set of teams to move on to the next round.
Round Two:
- Finalist teams will prepare an in-depth presentation. Additional questions may be provided to guide the preparation.
- Teams will present their presentations to a panel of industry experts. The panel will evaluate the technical sophistication of the analysis and the business value of the overall report.
- The presentation and judging event will be open to all RIT faculty and students.
Awards and Recognitions
The top three teams from round two will be recognized with the following awards:
- First place: $1,000
- Second place: $500
- Third place: $250
Other honorable mentions will also be recognized. Teams will also receive trophies and/or certifications of achievement to recognize their accomplishments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Team Composition and Participation:
No, you only have to provide the team information in the cover page of your submission.
Yes, you can participate as an individual.
Yes. As long as it is not more than 5 students from RIT (Undergrad and Master students)
Yes, students who graduate in May can still participate.
Competition Dataset, Software, and Procedures
The challenge dataset and instructions are posted in RIT MyCourses course shell "Business Analytics Competition @ RIT". All students who registered for the kick-off meeting will automatically be granted access. To request access to the course shell, please email Professor Quang Bui.
The video recording of the event is found here. You will need to sign in using SSO and log in using your RIT credentials to watch the video.
There will not be a designated mentor, but professors will be there to answer specific questions students may have.
No, we want students to be creative and come up with your own analysis that guide your answers to the challenge questions.
Yes and No. Yes, because students will present to a panel of industry experts. No, because the company in the competition is fictional.
Yes, you can. You can request a one-year license as a student here: https://www.tableau.com/academic/students
No, you can use additional data to augment your analyses.
Please send questions to professor Quang “Neo” Bui (qnbbbu@rit.edu) or professor Victor J. Perotti.