Digital Innovation Drives Supply Chain Lessons with $10k PwC Grant

BSU Business Students to Use Data Analytics to Find Solutions for Case Studies

MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, [email protected], 301-832-2628 mobile(BOWIE, Md.) - Students at Bowie State University are being primed for the digital revolution in business, working with industry experts to analyze real-life supply chain challenges and using the latest technologies, thanks to a $10,000 grant from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the world's second-largest professional services network. Analysis of business scenarios, like Apple's global scramble to find suppliers for iPhone parts early in the COVID-19 pandemic, will be the foundation of the skills-based course content being developed by Andrea Calloway, faculty in the BSU Department of Management Information Systems. Her students will apply data analytics techniques to these case study-driven problem sets using software like Tableau and work with PwC professionals to develop innovative solutions. Undergraduate and graduate students, focusing in business disciplines from accounting to marketing, will have the chance to experience these lessons. Students will also use the PwC Digital Fitness Assessment mobile app to stay current with their knowledge of tech trends in business, even outside of class. "When the opportunity came up to apply for this PwC grant, I decided to merge the two areas that I've been working on: data analytics and supply chain management," said Professor Calloway. "Through the pandemic, supply chain issues stopped a lot of supplies from getting to a lot of different countries, especially tech supplies. When China shut down, all of the tech manufacturing there shut down. … That's what sparked my thinking about it. I got bit with the supply chain management bug." As part of the BSU Data Science & Analytics Initiative, Professor Calloway was also looking for innovative ways to infuse data analytics into her courses. With remote learning because of the pandemic, she was also trying to find new ways to engage her students in hands-on learning. She said the grant from PwC's Digital Enablement Program was a perfect way to leverage the firm's longstanding partnership with the College of Business in providing learning activities for BSU students preparing for careers in an increasingly digital world. "We're trying to get all of our students to understand how pervasive STEM and IT are throughout all careers and disciplines - you cannot work without it. This is an opportunity for them to be exposed to these tools and applications because when they get on the job, they will have to use them," she said. "This app and this approach are right on time and will hopefully be a good way to transition them into thinking about their place in a company."The PwC grant also opens up research opportunities for faculty and students to explore new ways to use data to drive business decisions. In introducing the new data analytics coursework, Professor Calloway will continue to emphasize with her students that employers need business professionals who understand how to integrate tech tools in their work. "Our world - career and academic world - is digital. And now, it's even more virtual than it was before," she said. "The more education that our students have, the less likely that their role will be either outsourced, automated or roboticized."

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Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.