Detroit-based financial analytics firm Ernst & Young (EY) today announced a $1 million gift to create a virtual learning platform for students focusing on advanced business analytics at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business. The EY Analytics Collaboratory’s curriculum will include live cases and customized course materials, as well as developing a cloud-based virtual learning infrastructure.
“Through this unique gift, EY’s commitment advances our position as offering a top business analytics program,” says Vallabh Sambamurthy, Eli Broad professor in the department of accounting and information systems and associate dean for outreach and engagement at the Broad College. “By creating this new style of learning to students of the Broad College and beyond, we’re responding to our corporate partners’ needs for employees with sharp analytical skills, creative problem-solving strategies, and business acumen.”
Students from MSU can elect courses from the collaborator to complement those offered in the college’s master’s in business analytics program, or receive a separate certification. The self-learning, real-time environment in a cloud-based infrastructure is new to the university and reflects the niched experience of EY.
“This gift helps keep Michigan State at the forefront of offering highly effective learning methods and curricula to prepare students for the world before them,” adds Lou Anna K. Simon, MSU’s president. “We are grateful to EY for their vision and investment in providing an extraordinary learning opportunity for current and future Spartans.”
The collaboratory is expected to open for student enrollment in fall 2018, allowing MSU faculty to collaborate with faculty across the university and gain access to use-cases, guest lectures, and strengthen the college’s academic-corporate partnership.
