Data analytics is a team science and here at West Virginia University that is exactly what members of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics are instilling in the minds of our students, our community members and our state through our Business Data Analytics program.

What started as a technical master’s program around data science and analytics in Fall 2016, has now grown into a project-based data science program to help students of all academic backgrounds grow in this field and scale-up for the job they want.  

A new minor and a couple certificates later, students outside of the College can gain business data analytics knowledge.

However, the program expanded again when the idea to mimic the capstone experience for undergraduate students came about through a new concept called Data Driven WV.

“In data analytics, you work together to solve problems and that is the core of our program. We are teaching students to solve business problems with data and technology,” said Brad Price, assistant professor of business data analytics at the Chambers College. “Data Driven WV was a product of our students, and it builds upon the experiential learning projects that have become the cornerstone of our program.”

Data Driven WV provides students with real-world data analytics and cybersecurity experience to enhance their education and build a more competitive resume.

Now in its third year of operations, it works to support faculty research, student experiential learning, and the prosperity of West Virginia and the surrounding region.

“The land-grand mission of the University is about how WVU supports the state, the students and the economy of the state,” said Price. “Data Driven WV is one of the places within the University that touches all three at the same time because we work with state entities, students, and corporate partners to create innovation and talent pipelines.”

Some of the corporate partners the program has partnered with includes WesBanco, Leidos, Noblis and Bravo Consulting.

“Since many of our corporate partners are West Virginia companies, it helps connect our students who have in-demand skills with organizations throughout the state and beyond,” said Price. “We have undergraduate students in cybersecurity and business data analytics getting to do what I call mission critical projects – those unique, one-of-a-kind experiences that give them new skillsets. Moving forward it shows that we can and will continue to produce the talent in data science and cybersecurity that companies of all sizes need in order to consider West Virginia a place to call home.”

Price said he and his colleagues have seen students from all walks of life come through the program and find success, and that is what he’s most proud of.

“We tell students that if they have any quantitative ability or they want to work in technology, this is something they can do,” said Price. “We have seen students from marketing, finance, management information systems, math, statistics, computer science, and more, but we have also seen students from English and sociology majors go on to be outstanding students in our program because they think about problems differently.”

In 2020, the West Virginia National Guard teamed up with Data Driven WV and two Chambers College seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic, to forecast PPE needs across the state as part of WVU’s commitment to its land-grant mission. As vaccines were launched, they developed and managed a digital inventory management system to forecast and track demand.

The work that the Chambers College and Data Driven WV is doing for business data analytics not only fits the West Virginia mindset, but it also fits the student that chooses West Virginia.

To learn more about the Business Data Analytics program, visit business.wvu.edu.

NOTE: this story was originally written for WV Executive magazine's Summer 2022 issue. 

SH: August 2022 

CONTACT: Shelby Hudnall 
Marketing Strategist
WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics, Strategic Communications 
Stoompa1@mail.wvu.edu