Gearing Students for the Digital Economy

THE importance of the digital economy is further amplified by the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, which ironically has given a strong spur to fast track digital transformation around the globe.

HELP University (HU) is at the forefront of IT, business and data analytics and data science education. Coupled with its efforts in transforming itself into an analytics-driven entrepreneurial university, its Faculty of Computing & Digital Technology (FCDT) and Faculty of Business, Economics and Accounting (FBEA) have been awarded with a Premier Digital Technology status by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Furthermore, the FBEA is the first and the only business school to be awarded this status.  

HU offers two bachelor’s and two master’s programmes related to Analytics – Bachelor of Business Analytics (HUBBA), Bachelor of IT (Data Analytics) (HUBDA), Master of Applied Business Analytics (MABA) and Master of Data Science (MDS).

The HUBBA programme prepares graduates to seize the limitless scope of new jobs and ventures in the IR 4.0 era and to gain an advantage over competitors. The programme has been specially crafted and includes topics on Business Analytics and Information Systems, Descriptive, Predictive & Prescriptive Business Analytics, Marketing & People Analytics, and Data Insights and Visualisations to explore and investigate business data and transform into business insights.

These insights are then used to predict outcomes of business decisions and to recommend actions that maximize ideal outcomes. Business analytics knowledge and skills helps solve business problems and improves business performance.

In Bachelor of IT (Data Analytics) (Hons, (HUBDA) programme, data analytics focuses on the interpretation of data, analysis and presentation of insights to stakeholders. 

Nowadays, high number of industries demand for graduates who are proficient in BOTH IT AND Data Analytics to support business operations which are increasingly data centric. HU’s graduates’ employability rate is 95% upon graduation even during pandemic because of this increased push towards digitalization.

HUBDA also includes comprehensive IT training and preparation for professional certifications in IT including Oracle, AWS and others. The course is reviewed by Industry Advisory Board ensuring industry relevance.

MABA and the MDS are of special importance for their relevance and potential contribution to nurture high level managerial manpower skills and training relevant for the MyDigital context; an initiative that was launched with the aim of transforming Malaysia into a digitally-driven, high-income nation and a regional leader in digital economy.

HELP’s MABA programme aims to nurture talents to assume senior and managerial positions like chief data officer and chief analytics officer, leveraging on large data set, simulation analysis and forecasts to produce more efficient decisions and strategies. The programme covers topics in statistics, decision-making models, business intelligence and analytics, and applies them to crucial areas of business like marketing, HR, finance, economics, business operations and supply chain.

It equips students with the latest analytics tools and skills to understand the dynamics of a business, anticipate market shifts and identify market segmentation and consumer patterns by using big data and analytics to optimise performance and control risks.

The Master of Data Science (MDS) programme aims to produce data scientists with sophisticated skills in quantitative modelling and data mining and analytics techniques to analyse big data and provide crucial information needed in decision-making.

The mixed mode Master training in data science allows industry project research to be used to fulfil thesis requirements. Its flexible study modes consist of online instruction, pre-recorded lectures, and case studies which are suitable for busy working professionals who want to upgrade their careers through a Master’s degree and knowledge of data science. Furthermore, students will receive an SAS badge in Data Analytics upon completion of two courses in the Master’s programme.

The programme nurtures graduates to meet the growing demand for data science professionals who are capable of making decisions based on the availability of comprehensive data. It prepares graduates to apply analytics techniques for knowledge discovery and dissemination to assist researchers or decision-makers in achieving organisational objectives.

The MABA and MDS programmes of HU’s ELM Graduate School assume special importance in view of the Government’s policy to encourage 875,000 MSMEs to embrace e-commerce as an important contributor to Malaysia’s digital economy under MyDigital.

ELMGS collaborates with the SME Corporation Malaysia to train entrepreneurs in the successful operation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Under the liberalisation of higher education, the APEL scheme of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) allows candidates without a bachelor's degree but who possess a recognised diploma or STPM and have prior working experience in this field to be admitted into the MABA and MDS programmes.

Apart from harnessing qualified and experienced leadership to deliver these programmes, HELP has created a vibrant ecosystem in keeping with its mission to nurture the A*Gen – the Analytics Generation – and maintains close ties with the industry and governing bodies.

A RM25mil Business Analytics and Technology Innovation Centre (BATIC) was set up to incubate and innovate techno-entrepreneurship and research and development in analytics, the latter in tandem with the HELP Centre for Applied Research in Analytics (CARA).

BATIC also houses one of the largest Bloomberg financial labs among private higher learning institutions in Malaysia to train students in live stock-trading.

In collaboration with analytics software developer SAS, HELP offers HUBBA and HUBDA students a joint certificate of competency in the application of SAS tools for Business and Data Analytics.

HELP’s extensive network of collaborators provides opportunities for enriching student learning experience.

For course details, contact 03-2716 2000, email at marketing@help.edu.my,  or visit www.help.edu.my.