SAS promotes analytics education for all

As part of its commitment to promoting analytics education for all, SAS announced several educational initiatives during its recent Global Forum 2019, including SAS Viya for Learners (free access to AI software for higher education teaching and learning), Cortex (a new simulation game that allows educators to gamify the analytics learning experience) and a new philanthropic partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs that introduces kids to coding.

“Analytics is changing work and our current and upcoming workforce as we know it,” says SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. “But humans will always be the heart and soul of innovation. Our commitment to analytics education from kids to educators to professionals unleashes the power of learners to build a better world.”

Education is a key pillar of the company’s recently announced $1 billion AI investment. To support the successful use of SAS Viya for Learners at academic institutions, a substantial share of the education portion of that investment will go toward free educator workshops and teaching materials. With SAS Viya for Learners, academic institutions can boost graduate career placement rates by building a complete advanced analytics program within a single software environment. Students gain expertise in the most popular software languages today, including SAS and open source options Python and R. They learn to explore data, discover insights and deploy AI and machine learning models. Professors can apply for access to SAS Viya for Learners via the home page.

SAS and Canadian business school HEC Montréal launched Cortex, an online simulation game that teaches analytics and predictive modeling skills. Educators can bring real-world experience into the classroom by having students compete to create the best model to support a fictional charitable foundation’s fundraising efforts. The game provides students with information on the nonprofit and a data set of potential donors, as well as access to SAS data mining tools. Students are ranked on a leaderboard based on the quality of their model and its results.