Regional businesses will be able to access the expertise of Holland College faculty and post-graduate students to acquire valuable business intelligence in the new Business Analytics Centre the college opened in Charlottetown this month.

The Business Analytics Centre, which has received $750,000 from the Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), is in the Tourism and Culinary Centre on Sydney Street.

The centre will be an innovation hub specifically designed to deliver project-based experiential learning for project management and data analytics post-graduate students while providing space, equipment, and expertise to businesses from across the region.

Businesses will have access to state-of-the-art software and equipment when they collaborate with a team of students under the supervision of expert faculty. The initiative is mutually beneficial, said Holland College President, Dr. Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald.

“Holland College’s Business Analytics Centre supports the development and growth of regional businesses while developing a highly skilled workforce of data analytics and project management specialists,” he said. “It will give the Project Management and Data Analyst students, all of whom already have at least one post-secondary credential, invaluable real-life experience and the opportunity to connect with potential employers.”

“The new Business Analytics Centre will be a welcome addition to the innovation ecosystem here in PEI,” said Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, on behalf of the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for ACOA. “With access to the latest technology and programming, the centre will nurture collaboration between private industry and academia, act as a flagship for student recruitment and help advance the essential skills required by our evolving workforce,” said Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown.

The Holland College Foundation also provided funding for the development of the centre. Kent Scales, Foundation Board Chair, said the centre will provide experiential learning opportunities for students that will augment their post-secondary training.

“By working with businesses across the region, students will gain valuable, real-life experience that will benefit them in their careers,” he said. “We are pleased to see this forward-thinking initiative come to fruition.”

For more information about the Business Analytics Centre, contact Elisha Baptiste by email at eabaptiste@hollandcollege.com or visit hollandcollege.com/bac.

For more information about the one-year Project Management Post-Graduate Certificate and the Data Analytics Post-Graduate Certificate programs, visit the program pages on hollandcollege.com.

In this picture: (L-R) Shawn MacDougall, Director of Applied Research at Holland College; Peter McLaughlin, President and Managing Partner of Anne of Green Gables Chocolates and member of the Holland College Foundation Board of Directors; MP Sean Casey; and Holland College President, Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald at the recent opening of the college’s new Business Analytics Centre.