AIM’s 1st undergraduate dual-degree program: Mentoring the Philippines’ future data scientists

Data science — or the process of extracting knowledge and insights from data—is a rapidly growing field with a wide range of application in business. It can help businesses make better decisions, improve efficiency, develop new products and services, and gain competitive advantage. Today, it is being used by retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and financial and technological companies, as it is a powerful tool that can be used to solve a wide range of business problems. 

This is why I see the Asian Institute of Management (AIM)’s decision to offer business and data in a single degree -- Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Business Administration (BSDSBA) -- to be a logical and long overdue move. Over the last 55 years, the management school has been known for its high-quality graduate programs. So it’s a wonderful news that it has decided to offer an undergrad program this year—and a dual degree program at that! 

Contributing to nation-building is something AIM has been doing over the last half a century.  But in her speech at the convocation, AIM President and Dean Dr. Jinkyeong Kang said, “We collectively concluded that we want to start early.” 

The good thing about AIM’s BSDSBA program is that it has forged a partnership with another prestigious institution, the University of Houston (UH). It’s “one of the largest business schools in the US and has the largest undergraduate business program in the State of Texas,” says Dr. Nikhi Celly, Director of the Office of Global Initiatives at Bauer College of Business at UH. 

The dual degree program combines the strengths of AIM’s Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (thru its BSDSBA program), and UH’s C.T. Bauer College of Business (thru its Bachelor of Business Administration Major in Management Information Systems - BBAMIS). 

The program will be taught by faculty members from AIM and UH, “who have collaborated to create a curriculum that is both comprehensive and holistic, ensuring that students receive the best possible education in business and data science.”

The initial three years of the program at AIM are supplemented by an online UH class each semester, where students would benefit