Industry Advisory Council: Impacts and Role in BTMA

For several years, iRC has engaged senior leadership from Calgary’s business community to provide practical insights into the changing educational needs of BTMA students as well as build mutually beneficial relationships, fostering innovation and bridging the gap between academia and industry. From talent recruitment and student internships to brand enhancement and customized research, BTMA’s Industry Advisory Council (IAC) are impacting future professionals, leaders and knowledge development in iRC research domains.

BTMA Professor and Area Chair Raymond A. Patterson, PhD, MBA, CPA (CGA), also serves as faculty member liaison with the IAC.

Since assuming the role in July 2017, Patterson has seen positive results of IAC involvement in BTMA including tremendous growth in student enrollment in the area, significant program developments, and new Haskayne School of Business collaborations.

“The undergraduate business technology concentration increased from 57 to about 160 across all 4 years. Also, the undergraduate business analytics program was created in conjunction with Haskayne’s Operation and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) group, and now has about 260 undergraduates across all 4 years, 40% of these students identify as female. Additionally, we have collaborated with OSCM to create two MBA specializations in data analytics, as well as the Business Analytics Diploma stream in the graduate Data Science master’s degree program.”

“The BTMA IAC has been there every step of the way, providing advice and consultation. We could not have created these programs without their support.”

Patterson is seeking more dynamic involvement for the IAC in research initiatives, where members can directly benefit from research collaborations, utilize research findings to inform strategic decisions and policy development, participate in joint innovation projects that drive industry advancements and connect with other industry leaders involved in similar research collaborations.

“While a lot of our research is at the theoretical level, there are always a couple of ongoing projects that directly involve industry partners. One example is the identification of fraudulent crypto websites that steal billions from Canadians every year. Another is research to optimize process workflows through a combination of dynamic scheduling and inventory management.”

These are just two examples of topics where industry may benefit from research collaborations between IAC members and iRC faculty researchers. As Patterson points out, there are numerous advantages found in gaining access to cutting-edge BTMA research, but not all can be measured.

“Benefits are often fairly intangible as value comes from the journey, not necessarily the destination.” 

See the full IAC membership here.