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As Artificial Intelligence (AI) transforms global economies, business leaders must learn how to translate complex data into effective business strategy.

“Just as financial literacy was once the baseline for business leaders, the ability to understand and apply analytics is now critical for driving growth, innovation and long-term success,” says Borzou Rostami, associate professor at the Alberta School of Business and academic director of the º£½ÇÉçÇø’s AI Centre for Decision Analytics (AI4DA).

To prepare students for the increasingly data-driven world of business, the school has launched a state-of-the-art analytics lab that provides hands-on learning in data analytics, AI, machine-learning and optimization.

“The Business Analytics Lab is a place for students to practice transforming information into clear insights and decisions that help organizations make smarter choices,” Rostami explains.

The launch of the lab coincides with the start of a new undergraduate major in Business Analytics and Master of Management Analytics program, the latter of which Rostami oversees as academic director.

All of these initiatives reinforce the school’s commitment to preparing students for careers in today’s data-driven economy, says Dean Vikas Mehrotra:  

"In the Business Analytics Lab, students gain hands-on experience that empowers them to become bilingual in data and business. This dual fluency ensures that when they graduate, our students are prepared to lead conversations and shape decisions that define the rapidly evolving future of business."

Preparing students for real-world challenges

Outfitted with high-performance computing resources, advanced data visualization tools, and collaborative workstations, the lab has been designed for applied learning. 

“It allows students to explore everything from managing databases and visualizing information to applying machine learning and deep learning in business contexts,” says Rostami.

Thanks to industry collaboration, students will tackle actual business problems and real data provided by industry partners. This introduces real-world challenges that textbook case studies cannot, such as incomplete data sets and competing business priorities.

“Students quickly learn that they must adapt, problem solve and apply creativity to deliver meaningful solutions,” says Rostami.

For example, a student might help a retailer decide how to stock products across multiple stores. This might involve summarizing historical sales patterns before applying diagnostic methods to determine what is driving those sales patterns, such as promotions or competitor activity.

From here, a student might design a predictive model to forecast future demand or use prescriptive analytics to recommend stocking policies that balance customer satisfaction with cost efficiency.

“The outcome isn’t just numbers. Students deliver interactive dashboards and reports that help managers understand why something happened, what might happen next, and what actions should be taken,” says Rostami.

“This gives businesses practical insights and decision tools they can directly implement.”

Learning how to leverage data will ultimately help graduates anticipate customer needs, reduce costs, manage risk, uncover hidden opportunities, and more. As a result of these skills, graduates will be well-positioned for careers in consulting, finance, supply chain management, and beyond.

Harnessing the university’s AI expertise

The new Business Analytics Lab builds on the º£½ÇÉçÇø’s long-standing expertise and global reputation in AI research. For more than two decades, the university has been ranked among the top universities in AI and machine learning. The º£½ÇÉçÇø is also a key partner of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), one of Canada’s three national AI institutes and part of the .

“This initiative represents a larger vision of combining the º£½ÇÉçÇø’s leadership in AI with practical business applications,” Rostami says. “Through this lab, we are helping both Alberta and our students become leaders in technology-driven business innovation.”