Third Business Intelligence Summit a success

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's third annual virtual 2024 Business Intelligence Summit, held March 21, was an engaging dialogue between Saint Mary's students, industry leaders, faculty, and alumni. With over 130 attendees, this year's summit focused on the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and its applications across various fields and project management and analytics across unique disciplines.

Sean O'Neil's keynote presentation on the health of the State of Minnesota was a notable highlight of the summit. As director of economic development and research for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, O'Neil covered demographic factors, employment trends, and innovation in Minnesota.

The executive sponsor for this year's summit was Fastenal. Ryan Rosenberg, Fastenal's director of data analytics, also presented about the importance of listening and understanding the business, emphasizing the significance of understanding project management and diverse stakeholders. Not all situations require in-depth statistics or modeling to solve problems. Analysts can often provide too much information and may even solve the wrong problem. Understanding the business user is crucial because there may be a better way to approach problem-solving to offer a solid solution that can also lead to quicker and more competitive decision-making.

Both students and industry professionals had positive things to say about this year's sessions:

"As a healthcare technology leader, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of data and analytics in the industry," said Mayo Clinic's Jordan Moore. "This summit not only showcased current trends but also bridged the gap between academia and real-world applications, offering invaluable insights for both students and corporations."

Saint Mary's student Noah Hadar '24 shared, "It was a great experience for learning about the reality of business intelligence. It's not just about data but also about communicating it for business relevance and deciding if something is right or wrong for the business.

"Discovering Mayo Clinic's cutting-edge use of AI in healthcare scheduling was eye-opening," said Mario Rodriguez Gomez '24. "It's incredible to see how data-driven strategies can revolutionize patient experiences and streamline operations."

"At Saint Mary's, the aim of the Business Intelligence and Data Analytics program and the Center for Business Analytics is to provide valuable industry experiences and opportunities for students and the community," summit organizer Michael Ratajczyk shared. "The Business Intelligence Summit is a prime example of this effort. We were happy to have industry experts and alumni returning as attendees and speakers. 2024 marks our third year holding the summit, and it has been great to see it keep getting bigger. Here's to the event's continued success and growth."