2-5-2023 EDU - Flipbook - Page 6
6 The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 5, 2023
Area universities prepare students for today’s workforce
New programs help students prepare to meet challenges and opportunities
By Carol Sorgen, Contributing Writer
Y
ou don’t have to be an athlete to prepare for a career in the sports world.
At Towson University (TU), students
from all fields of study and extracurricular pursuits pursue the school’s sport
management major, which addresses the unique
position of sport in the global economy, according
to Jacob J. Bustad, Ph.D., associate professor and
sport management program coordinator.
Bustad explains that TU’s sport management major differs from those at other schools
because, unlike other programs, it isn’t located
in a physical education or recreation department, but rather can be found within the school’s
department of kinesiology. It also differs from
traditional programs that have focused primarily
on the business aspect of professional and college
team sports.
“A sport management major can lead you to a
job in many different areas, such as high school/
youth sport, recreation management, health
and fitness, intercollegiate athletics, professional
sport, sport agency, facility management, event
management, community relations, and retail
marketing,” says Bustad.
Bustad observes that the major’s required
courses help students gain a broader knowledge
of the business aspects of the sports industry as
well as a greater understanding of the sociocultural role of sport in society. The interdisciplinary program also requires a minor in business
administration, with such courses as accounting,
micro- and macro-economics, finance, marketing, and management. Students are also encouraged to become involved on campus through volunteer experiences as well as membership in the
Sport Business Association to broaden their skills
as they prepare to become future sport leaders.
All majors also complete an internship
before they graduate, with opportunities to work
with such organizations as the Orioles, Ravens,
Wizards, Towson Athletics, and U.S. Olympic
Committee. “The internships help students pursue their interests and make connections,” says
Bustad, adding that there are study abroad components as well to such locations as Greece,
Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Chile and
London.
Loyola’s Baltipreneurs Accelerator works with business, community, and academic partners to provide funding, training,
and mentorship for Baltimore’s innovators, with a preference for women entrepreneurs and founders of color.
Bustad is proud of the fact that the program
has made a conscientious effort to increase the
racial and ethnic diversity of its students and is
similarly working to increase the gender diversity
as well.
University of Maryland Relaunches Online
Master of Science in Business Analytics
“Just a few years ago, most working professionals could conduct their business primarily
with spreadsheet skills, as corporate decisionmaking was either based on hindsight knowledge
or gut feel,” says Suresh Acharya, professor of
practice and academic director for the Master
of Science in business analytics programs at the
University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School
of Business (UMD Smith).
we realized that it needed some adjustments to
make it address the needs of working professionals, including more asynchronous content, a
lower price point, more flexible curriculum, and
an easier transition back to academia,” he says.
“The impetus for the relaunch was to address the
needs of our primary student segment who are
working professionals who find themselves needing to deal with data, from collecting, storing, and
curating to analyzing and visualizing data.
“The curriculum is geared toward enabling
students to generate insights and to make predictions, all toward making data-driven decisions,”
Acharya continues. “This is a valued competency
that is in high demand industry as we continue to
be a more data-driven society.”
UMD’s OMSBA program is unique in that
time convenient to them. The program’s duration
of 16 months and an economical price point are
also very central to our focus on working professionals.”
Loyola University Supports Start-Ups
Loyola University Maryland is intent on
engaging with Baltimore City and supporting its
economic growth. One of the ways it does that
is through its Baltipreneurs Accelerator, a program within its Simon Center for Innovation &
Entrepreneurship.
“Our goal, which has always been a core of
the center’s vision is to help build a more prosperous and equitable Baltimore,” says Founding
Director Wendy Bolger.
The accelerator works with business, commu-
Above and right: Loyola’s Baltipreneurs Accelerator concludes with an annual Demo Day.
Approximately 350 students are currently
majoring in sport management, with interest
growing all the time. “It’s a popular major,” says
Bustad, pointing out that the sports industry
overall in the U.S. continues to grow.
Madison Mince, a 22-year-old sport management major from Brighton, Michigan, is a
Division 1 student athlete on Towson’s swimming
team and is planning a career in intercollegiate
athletics.
“I’ve been an athlete my entire life,” says
Mince, who will graduate this spring and is currently applying for jobs in the field, with plans to
eventually get a master’s degree in sport management. “I chose Towson not only because I could
continue my athletic career here but also because
they have a great sport management program. I
really appreciate that the professors are preparing
us well to be successful.”
The availability of data, however, coupled
with the emergence of the “cloud,” and the maturity of machine learning and artificial intelligence
have forced organizations, both private and public, to make intelligent, data-driven decisions,
Acharya explains. “That is why the area of business analytics continues to be prominent,” he
says, adding that the recently relaunched online
Master of Science in business analytics (OMSBA)
is at the intersection of business and analytics,
exploring how organizations can leverage the
power of analytics to solve pressing business
problems.
The original OMSBA program kicked off in
the spring of 2019 and will be relaunched effective in Spring 2023.
Acharya observes that all the programs at
UMD Smith evolve based on student needs and
industry/academic trends. “While we were one of
the first to offer a program in business analytics,
it puts the working professional in the center of
the program design. One aspect of that is to offer
starter/refresher workshops on mathematical/
computational concepts so that students start
the program with the right skills. This “Bridge
Program” is free and is offered for several weekends right before the start of the program.
Another unique aspect of the OMSBA program is that it is asynchronous, with regular
touchpoints with faculty who have designed the
course, which allows working professionals to
learn the content at a time convenient for them
while still having the ability to have engaging
discussions with the faculty.
“We also recognize that flexibility is key to
working professionals as they may need to take
time off for maternity leave, active duty, priority
projects, etc.,” says Acharya. “Since the program
is offered twice a year, spring and fall, students
can request time off and resume the program at a
nity, and academic partners to provide funding,
training, and mentorship for Baltimore’s innovators, with a preference for women entrepreneurs
and founders of color. This year’s Baltipreneurs
Accelerator will provide a minimum of $40,000 in
total funding for eight ventures in the Baltimore
community.
Members of teams selected to participate in
the Accelerator attend 10 weekly sessions from
December through March, ending with a Demo
Day showcase in early spring. The latest cohort
of start-up businesses and innovative social ventures recently began its four-month part-time
program during which time they’ll receive support with training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking, and access to capital. Each
member also works with a mentor individually
chosen to complement the entrepreneur’s business plan.
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