Industry Partners
To ensure students are exposed to in-demand technologies and techniques, MSc CDA features industry-based instructors in each course, so students receive real-world learning experiences and connections to potential internships, sponsored projects, and industry events.
MSc CDA has partnered with local, national, and international organizations to help students develop in-demand analytics skills and knowledge, leading to exceptional career opportunities:
- IBM
- Our students benefit from IBM’s Client Innovation Centre Nova Scotia. IBM Services is a world leader in the ability to apply AI, automation, blockchain, the Internet of Things, 5G, cloud, and quantum computing at scale to make the promise of Cognitive Enterprises real
- Chief Data Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, Government of Canada
- The Chief Data Office and Saint Mary’s University organized a “Data for Good” hackathon focused on issues related to poverty
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada.
- Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada and Saint Mary’s University created a unique scholarship program to recruit and train Canadian data scientists for jobs in the Canadian public service.
- Citco
- Leadsift
- REDspace
- CGI
- MLT
- Emera Energy Inc.
- Sobeys
MSc CDA is a Registered Education provider for the Certified Analytics Professional designation. CAP® is managed by INFORMS, the largest professional society in the field of operations research, management science, and analytics. By completing the MSc CDA program, graduates will have fulfilled the education requirements for CAP® credential and are prepared to write the qualifying exam.
Industry Projects
Industry funded applied projects provide an excellent opportunity for students to hone their skills as both full stack developers and data analysts. Projects address a major data analytics problem identified by industry partners and emphasize project management and applying the skills and knowledge gained through MSc CDA coursework. Here is a summary of recent industry sponsored projects:
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) |
Individual Discovery Grant: Generalized sequential data mining using enhanced object representations based on preliminary clustering profiles. $125,000 |
Mitacs National Research Council Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that builds partnerships to support industrial research. Mitacs funding provided internships for students in companies such as Hanatech, Clinical Logistics, and HomeExcept. All funding includes generous industry contributions. |
Mitacs
Mitacs-Accelerate Cluster Graduate Research Internship Program
Mitacs-Standard Cluster Graduate Research Internship Program
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Nova Scotia Business Inc. |
Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program Two R&D Projects with Bluelight Analytics and EffProp.com. $40,000 |
Industry Challenges
Students build their professional networks and gain invaluable experience working on real industry challenges through hackathons and design competitions. MSc CDA regularly sends teams to local and national competitions – with outstanding results.
Teams from MSc CDA finished first in the Nova Scotia Open Data Hackathon in 2017 and 2018, sponsored by Microsoft, IBM, Socrata, and the Province of Nova Scotia.
MSc CDA finished as the top Canadian team and third overall in the prestigious The International Business Analytics (IBA) Challenge. MSc CDA has sponsors teams in industry and government events alike:
- RBC Next Great Innovator Hackathon, Toronto
- Data for Good - Poverty Hackathon, Chief Data Office, Government of Canada
- Data Visualization Competition, University of New Brunswick
- Innovative Design for Accessibility (IDeA) student competition
- IBM Bluemix Hackathon
- Atlantic Lottery Hackathon, Payzant Home Hardware Hackathon: David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing & Services