Do you want to improve your analytics and reporting skills? Do you wish to be confident with the use of dynamic technology-tools that accelerate your business career? The Business Analytics minor provides you with skills in the fields of understanding complex business data, business intelligence and analysis.
The minor program focuses on business study-related students seeking business careers, including students wishing to pursue their advanced studies, like a Master in Data-Driven studies, Business Analytics and related areas. The minor is meant for you if who are:
- interested to learn data driven decision making techniques;
- interested in data analytical tools and analysis;
- seeking a business career with special skills and hands on business analytic tools;
- interested in the innovation and advanced development in the business area, for example financial technology, marketing intelligence and artificial intelligence.
Admission
No specific requirements. You do not need an internship or workplace to take the minor.
The Examination Board determines which minors do not have a higher professional education level and/or have an unacceptable overlap with the compulsory curriculum of your own study programme. Check at the page Not allowed minor courses under your institute which minors are not allowed. This page will be updated from 29 February 2024 for the 2024-2025 minor offer.
Content
Business Analytics gains increasing importance in practice. Many global companies –including banks, consulting companies and large manufacturing and service firms – are seeking experts who understand the specific needs of managerial decision-making and can provide relevant (data-driven) solutions for genuine business transformations. This minor fits the current market need for graduates who are well rounded and particularly strong in their capability to understand the flow of business information and bridge the gap between analysis and strategic decision-making. You will be qualified to connect the dots for companies.
As an analytically skilled graduate you will be an expert at working in interdisciplinary teams in any organization to solve complex business problems with the power of data driven strategy. You can support middle and top management with advance data driven techniques for decision making across different business aspects, such as Finance, Marketing, Human Resource, Sales, Operations and Customers relationship management. You will move beyond academics to understanding the implications for business and developing actionable intelligence, building on the diverse skills and knowledge gained in their major business curriculum. This minor comprises of theoretical knowledge, technical skills and practical assignments in relations with corporate partners.
The Business Management Analytics minor is organized across four core business specialisations: Data Analytics, Financial Analytics, Marketing Analytics and Financial Technology. In addition, two extra subjects are part of the minor: Management Information System (MIS) and Industry Based Project.
Learning Objectives
You will:
- be able to understand new and best-practice methods used to collect data;
- know how to increase efficiency and improve business performance by discovering patterns in data;
- know how to use historical business data to estimate forecasts for future events using trends and seasonality;
- have knowledge of the appropriate tools to gain new data insights and to predict future outcomes;
- know to formulate data-driven recommendations to inform the strategic business decisions that lead your company toward success;
- know how to analyse financial statements and to report the performances via digital reporting techniques.
- understand how marketing insights enhance decision-making, by converting data into insights for decisions such as: segmentation, positioning, product development, promotion, advertising response;
- have knowledge of the most common market intelligence tools;
- have a deeper understanding of evolving financial industry, particularly financial technology shaping digital currencies and future payment systems;
- know about financial technology components, like digital finance channels, blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrencies;
- be able to utilize different financial analysis tools and techniques for decision making;
- get hands on experience with industry based projects using analytical tools.
Courses
This minor consist of 6 courses of 5 ECTS each. After successful completion of all the minor subjects, students will be rewarded 30 ECTS.
- Data Analytics – Data Confidence, handling various forms of data from different business operations like Marketing, Sales, Production, Human Resources, Finance and Accounting.
- Financial Analytics – The goal of financial analytics is to shape the strategy for business through reliable, factual insight rather than intuition. Learning why, when and how to apply financial analytics in real-world situations. Learning finance and exploring techniques to analyze time series data using different analytical tools and leveraging on artificial intelligence (AI). Financial analytics involves using large amounts of financial and other relevant data to identify patterns to make predictions for future business decisions and reporting it through infographics and dashboard.
- Marketing Analytics – You will learn about marketing research techniques for analyzing data, once it has been collected, and use those analyses to make better management decisions. The course will familiarize you with the most common analytical tools in the industry to improve marketing decision. For example sales forecasting, customer segmentation/targeting, product/brand positioning, price and promotion. You will learn how to select and use the appropriate marketing KPI’s and create dashboards. By the end of the course, you will have some experience with real life marketing cases in practice, measuring, managing and analyzing marketing performance to maximize its effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI).
- Management Information System (MIS) – You will learn how to use information system tools and techniques to utilize the organization data to coordinate, control, analyze and visualize the information for middle and higher management to improve their decision-making.
- Financial Technology (Fintech) – understanding of financial industry, fintech start-up cases, analyse how fintech invitations disrupt traditional banking and financial services, blockchain, fintech investment communities. Create innovative fintech strategies based on practical projects.
- Industry Based Project – You have the option to choose from a Fintech project, or work on real life firm’s data analytics assignment via our corporate partners.
Assessment
In order to obtain the learning goals and to monitor progress you are required to have an active role in the following assessment factors: individual and group assessments of delivering data visualization reports and portfolio assignments; some theoretical exams; peer review; industry practical assignments from our corporate partners, including presenting contents to industry experts as panel members.
Literature
Will be updated and available on the Minor course site and on Canvas.
Schedule
February – June 2024. Fixed classes 2 or 3 days a week (depending on the module), each course takes 7 weeks. There is an attendance requirement.
It is not possible to arrange a tailor-made program.
With the exception of the first teaching period of the academic year (starting September), the lesson and test schedules are always posted on Mijn Rooster four weeks before the start of each teaching period. The schedule for the first teaching period of the academic year can be found on the site three weeks before the start. The most up-to-date schedule is always visible on Mijn Rooster.
At HU, full-time education may be scheduled between 08:30 and 19:00.
Additional costs
None.