Analytics leader SAS to visit Capitol

With interest and employment opportunities in analytics rising at a swift pace, Capitol Technology University is hosting SAS, a leading producer of analytics software, for a special event on Friday (November 3).

SAS representatives will be introducing students to the field, discussing current and future trends, highlighting career paths, and meeting with Capitol faculty to outline specific industry needs that will inform a brand-new master’s degree program in cyber analytics as well as an undergraduate degree program at Capitol in business analytics, to be launched in Fall 2018.

“Analytics is a field with rapidly rising employer demand, “ associate director of career services Sarah Alspaw said. “SAS is one of the key companies in this arena and the insights they provide will be immensely valuable as we prepare to make our new programs available to students starting in Fall 2018. The event will be a valuable opportunity for our students to hear about analytics opportunities straight from the source."

Faculty members will also meet with SAS to help chart out course curriculum and plan resources.

“Our professors will be working with SAS to ensure that students gain experience with the software that the industry is using and that they are obtaining the skills and knowledge that employers need,” Alspaw said.

During the Capitol event, representatives of the company will lead two workshops. An IRS representative will also be joining SAS for a panel on how federal agencies are making use of analytics tools.

“There are many things students can learn from attending the event,” Alspaw said. “They’ll learn about business and cyber analytics, and about a leading organization in the field. They’ll learn terminology used in the field and become acquainted with software and other tools and resources. And they’ll find out about employment opportunities.”

Starting a cyber analytics program is a natural fit for Capitol, given the university’s longstanding engagement with cybersecurity. Capitol was one of the first institutions of higher education to offer an academic degree program in cybersecurity. In 2010, it started the nation’s first doctoral degree program in the field. Capitol’s cybersecurity program is a DHS and NSA-designated Center of Excellence in cybersecurity education.

With the volume and sophistication of cyber attacks on the increase, many see analytics as a way to keep ahead of potential adversaries.

“It opens up the possibility of predicting malicious behavior before it happens,” Alspaw said. “As many companies and organizations have learned, pre-empting an attack is far less costly than cleaning up after one.”

The SAS event will start at 9 am in the Avrum Gudelsky auditorium on the Capitol campus. For more information, contact Career Services.