At Alteryx, Scholarships are 鈥極ur Responsibility鈥� to Help Aspiring Leaders Develop Skills for Changing Workplaces鈥�
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Software company鈥檚 co-founder says businesses need graduates who aren鈥檛 intimidated by data.
When she co-founded Alteryx 25 years ago, Libby Duane saw a need to bring business analytics to the masses. Part of that vision now includes scholarships for Leeds students like听Jordyn Gerstle-Goodman (below right), who graduated in May.
When she co-founded Alteryx in 1997, Libby Duane and her partners had a clear vision for a future in which business analytics would go from being the role of a specialized set of knowledge workers to the responsibility of everyone throughout the organization.
It鈥檚 safe to say that the world, in the last 25 years, has proved her right.听
鈥淎nalytics is no longer reserved for just a chosen few in the business,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t has become our responsibility, as business leaders, to ensure students are graduating with these data and analytics skills, to make them better job candidates and prepare them for long-term success.鈥澨�
That鈥檚 a key reason that Alteryx has become a partner for life-changing scholarships at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder. Beyond extending support for underrepresented and first-generation college students, Duane鈥攏ow chief advocacy officer at the software company鈥攕aid the business world needs graduates who aren鈥檛 intimidated by data.听
鈥淒ata is not going away. And the ability to work with data is a job-required skill now,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd the more students invest in that skill set, and develop their ability to work with data, the richer their career opportunities are.鈥澨�
That鈥檚 certainly true for Jordyn Gerstle-Goodman (IA, Fin鈥�21; MSBA鈥�22). She learned about data science during her undergraduate work, and thanks to an Alteryx scholarship, was able to immediately pursue her master鈥檚 degree while getting exposure to an invaluable set of tools.听
鈥淲ith the Alteryx scholarship specifically, it鈥檚 very much centered around my skill set,鈥� said Gerstle-Goodman, who is returning to Disney following an internship in data analysis at the company. 鈥淭he money obviously helps, but there are also these great learning opportunities. I got to attend coding boot camps and had access to Alteryx tools, in addition to job opportunities.鈥� 听
While Gerstle-Goodman is a confident coder, Duane鈥攚ho has a background in marketing鈥攊s not. But that doesn鈥檛 mean she abstains from analysis.
鈥淢odern analytics is both code-free and code-friendly,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to be able to support all the learning styles and skills that every learner has, and that鈥檚 what the Alteryx analytics platform enables. It enables you to learn analytics as a code-free individual, which is me.鈥澨�
鈥淒ata is not going away. And the ability to work with data is a job-required skill now.鈥�
Libby Duane, co-founder and chief advocacy officer, Alteryx
That鈥檚 a key reason Alteryx is so invested in business school students, through scholarships as well as its SparkED educational initiative. The company does support students in other disciplines, from engineering and computer science to medicine, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 business schools where we see all these departments and disciplines that have built pipelines to companies that are the biggest consumers of analytics right now,鈥� she said. Alteryx and Leeds share another key connection鈥攖he company鈥檚 executive chairman, Dean Stoecker, is a Leeds alumnus who studied international business at CU Boulder.
A key feature of business programs
At Leeds, analytics have become a core feature of many academic programs, from undergraduate programs in information management and accounting to master鈥檚 degrees in supply-chain management and business analytics. Earlier this month, with support from Alteryx, Leeds hosted a conference for directors of business analytics master鈥檚 programs, to help schools examine best practices and figure out how to collaborate in keeping cutting-edge programs current with the requirements of industry.
And for those business schools, Duane said, it鈥檚 important to ensure graduates are comfortable with data while getting familiar with analytics, and learn how to interpret information and use data to tell a story to make better decisions鈥攔egardless of what industry they end up in.听
鈥淚t does not matter where your passions are,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hether you have an interest in entertainment, fashion, automotive, financial services, sports鈥攁nalytics is everywhere, because data is everywhere. Students shouldn鈥檛 think, 鈥業鈥檓 going to go into fashion, I don鈥檛 need analytics.鈥� Yes, you do.鈥�
If your company is interested in supporting scholarships for Leeds students, please contact the industry and foundation relations team.
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