The Complete Guide to Studying Abroad for a Master’s (MS) in Business Analytics

Often, we see Instagram reels, YouTube videos, or Spotify song suggestions based on our previous viewings. Similarly, Nykaa, Flipkart, and Amazon suggestions based on our previous purchases or our page’s Google ads are related to what we bought or saw online. It’s not magic, or the internet is secretly reading our minds; these companies use large amounts of data and business analytics tools to predict customer behaviour and customise what we see and receive.Business Analytics aims to offer companies the quantitative data they need to analyse trends in the market, improve risk management processes, improve customer acquisition and retention strategies, and uncover hidden trends related to human behaviour. The result is better business decisions, automated processes, and a better customer experience.

Analysing business data helps inform business decisions by providing insights. In addition, automating and optimising business processes can be achieved. A data-driven company leverages its data as a competitive advantage and treats it as a corporate asset. An organisation’s commitment to data-driven decision-making depends on the data’s quality, skilled analysts, and a solid understanding of technologies.

Course Structure

The students may study a range of topics in a business analytics program depending on several factors, including:

– Business Statistics
A prerequisite math course is typically required before enrolling in a business statistics course because statistical analysis requires mathematical skills.

– Data Analysis
The data analysis program provides students with a deeper understanding of the legal implications of analytics and its effects on the world. In tandem with the field of data analytics, technology advances.

– Operations Management
This course aims to study how different operational and strategic configurations operate. The students will develop analytical skills in the course that will allow them to evaluate and understand complex process behaviour and improve performance.

– Optimisation
Optimising a business involves identifying and implementing ways to improve efficiency and productivity. In order to optimise the business, one can implement new methods, practices, or systems that can reduce turnaround time.

– Business forecasting
This program includes methods of predicting future market conditions based on historical data analysis and business intelligence tools.

It is possible to forecast business either qualitatively or quantitatively. Market research and subject matter experts are involved in quantitative business forecasting, while only data is analysed in quantitative business forecasting.

– Programming
Basic programming skills for business applications will be taught in this course. By utilising comprehensive business analytics tools, including R, Python, and other programming, students will be able to perform descriptive data analysis on a wide range of data types. Data-rich economies require managers to possess these programming skills to allow businesses to scale.

– Business systems
Businesses use principles, practices, and procedures to organise activities and achieve specific results. A business system can serve a number of purposes, and the crucial objective is to create shortcuts without compromising the business ethics and budget.

– Analytics system technology
Business decisions are improved through data analytics in commercial enterprises. Models, theories, and hypotheses are similarly verified or disproved using analytical tools.

Moreover, the business analytics program provides lectures, seminars, and computer labs for the students, and their performances will be evaluated by exams, presentations, essays, and projects.

Course Subjects

The course will prepare students to make strategic decisions in marketing, human resources, finance, and operations based on data. The course may includes the following subjects:

– Data Visualization
This program teaches you how to create interesting and informative reports and dashboards based on data. Various tools will be used to create visualizations, including Excel, Tableau, Python, R, and Power BI.

– Big Data Analytics
Throughout the Big Data Analytics course, you will receive an overview of prominent big data tools, demonstrations, and case studies. Each of these tools will be covered during the course for the purpose of analytics. A framework discussion will follow an introduction to Hadoop and its different versions. Learn how to use Hive for SQL and illustrations, Spark for processing and analyzing data, and RDD and PySpark concepts, working and functioning. You will be able to work with Apache Kafka and advanced Spark concepts in the later parts of the Mastering Big Data Analytics course.

– Marketing Analytics
By studying Marketing Analytics, you will learn how to conduct research, analyze data, and measure the effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns. To improve sales, market share, and margins, you’ll learn to ask the right questions and determine the most relevant data.

– Programming for Analytics
Data analytics audiences without programming experience will learn the essentials of general programming concepts and techniques in this course. Students are expected to gain the necessary programming skills to be successful analytical programmers.

– Energy Analytics
Analyzing energy data using advanced analytical models delivers insights into energy usage. It is common to use specialised software called energy analytics software in the field of energy analysis.

Top Specializations

Bachelor in International Business degrees abroad are available in a variety of specialisations. Depending on your career goals and requirements, you can choose one. There are a number of popular specialisations in international business bachelor’s degrees, including:

1. Operations Analytics

Analyzing data and implementing business intelligence in real time are key aspects of operational analytics. Data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are the backbone of operational analytics, a subset of business analytics.

2. Customer Analytics

By analysing customer data, companies can determine how their customers are composed, their needs, and how they are satisfied. It is also used to segment buyers based on behaviour, determine general trends, or develop targeted marketing and sales plans.

3. People Analytics
HR team collects and interprets data about people using technology and a combination of descriptive, statistical, and visual methods. Utilising HR data, people analytics aims to improve people-based business outcomes. People analytics aims at more than improving performance. It includes identifying the team member’s behaviour patterns and areas of improvement for managers and employees.

4. Accounting Analytics
By using accounting analytics, businesses can uncover valuable insights about their financials, improve processes, and minimise risks.

Core Skills

Businesses worldwide are implementing business analytics, especially start-ups, eager to exploit data-driven advantages. This capability will also give them an advantage over for other firms in the mass market. To stand out, a company needs certain skills. The top five core skills required in business analytics are

1. Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Working together and providing quality organisational service requires interpersonal and communication skills. Giving presentations, resolving conflicts, facilitating meetings, negotiating, and influencing others is important.

2. Problem-Solving
Business analysts are responsible for understanding business problems and developing strategies to resolve them.

3. Critical Thinker
Analysts should critically evaluate what data they collect and why they collect it. In order to make decisions, they must analyse and highlight only the relevant data.

4. An Interactive Visualiser
A professional can create value from data by translating and visualising it concisely, accurately, and digestible.

5. Curiosity
An individual in this field should be naturally curious and driven to learn how things fit together. Analysts must stay updated on industry changes even as they become managers.

Technical Skills

Big data are rapidly dominating technical SkillsBusiness landscapes; thus, skilled analytics professionals are taking on the roles of both analysts and developers.

Understanding tools and programming languages conceptually and practically is essential for converting data sources into tangible solutions. Business analytics professionals can benefit from the following tools:

1. SQL
One of an analytics professional’s most critical tools is SQL, the language of databases. They develop visualisations to present to stakeholders using SQL queries to extract, analyse, and present data from the transaction database.

2. Statistical software
A career in analytics does not necessarily require the ability to write code, but programming skills are helpful. Data can also be managed and analysed using statistical software such as Excel, SPSS, Sage, SAS, and Mathematica.

3. Statistical languages
Two of the most commonly used programming languages in analytics are R, used for statistical analysis, and Python, used for general coding. When analysing big data sets, having a working knowledge of one or both of these languages can be helpful.

Requirements

Business Analytics master’s programs often require students to submit a GMAT or GRE score in addition to their TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores. The program is only open to students with undergraduate degrees.

The university may require additional documentation. In general, these requirements are common to all universities in Canada, the UK, the USA, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

Top Scholarships

Drive business growth through analytics-based solutions as a business analytics professional. Students will learn about various internationally recognised business intelligence and analytics tools and have a very strong practical focus on the course. You’ll learn how to solve business decision-making problems with modern modelling and solution techniques.

Here are the top five most recommended scholarships for a Master in Business Analytics for Indian students that offer numerous benefits:

• USA: Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship Program USA
• Germany: Heinrich Boll Foundation Scholarships
• New Zealand: New Zealand Aid Programme 2023 Scholarships For International
  Students
• Australia: Australia Awards Scholarships for International Students
• UK: British Chevening Scholarships

Work Opportunities

The analyst’s role is to bridge the gap between the IT team and business stakeholders. They are involved in SDLC processes and the development team but not in the coding and programming process. As a business analyst, you are heavily involved in eliciting requirements, analysing progress or organisation, conducting functional testing, building stakeholder relationships, etc.

Employers across a wide range of industries will be interested in business analytics graduates. You can embark on a career as a Business or Data or IT Analyst, Market Research Analyst, Digital Project Manager, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Engineer, Data Scientist, or Chief Technology Officer (CTO). You can work with large tech customer-facing companies or companies that offer data-based services, such as Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and many others.

FAQs

1. How can analytics be classified into four types?
There are four types of analytics used by Business Analysts to unlock raw data’s potential for improving business performance: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive.

2. What is the difficulty of the GRE compared to the GMAT?
It may be easier to take the GMAT if test-takers prefer logic questions to geometry problems, even though the quantitative section of the GMAT is more challenging than the GRE.

3. What is the difference between business analytics and data science?
In contrast to Business Analytics, Data Science requires plenty of coding skills. Business Analytics and Data Science are supersets of each other. In other words, one can train someone with data science skills to do Business Analytics, but not the other way around.

4. What country offers the most reputable business analytics courses?
Students must consider several factors when choosing where to study: employability, salaries, alum networks, career support, value for money, and reputation. There are some top-ranked countries to study for a Master’s degree in Business Analytics, including the United States, the UK, Germany, and Australia.

Final Thoughts

Businesses around the world are increasingly collecting and analysing data. Choosing to study business analytics abroad will broaden your options and make it easier for you to select a program that suits your interests. Discover how other countries approach data use by accessing the best courses worldwide.

Find the right career path for you with the help of a Global Colliance expert team. Among other services, Global Colliance assists students with shortlisting universities, applications, and preparation for IELTS/TOEFL/GRE/GMAT, scholarships, and more. Discover the world, become a global leader and adventurer by starting your study abroad career today.

Visit us at www.globalcolliance.com and get answers to all your study abroad-related queries.