After graduating with a Mechanical Engineering degree, finding a job in the world of analytics was the last thing Abhishek Roy expected. However, the opportunity with Mu Sigma, an analytics company in India intrigued and inspired him to improve his quantitative skills and understanding of machine learning.
“Leveraging the smartest analytics solutions is the core of every company today from the world’s biggest tech firms to the biggest banks,” said the convert on harnessing the power of quantitative solutions.
Armed with experience in analytics and a natural flair for business, Abhishek Roy wanted to take his career a step further by developing his skillset in a field that combined these two areas of expertise. This led to his enrolment with the NUS Business Analytics Centre in 2016 to pursue a Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA).
Seizing opportunities presented during the MSBA programme, he won the DELL Young Business Leader Challenge, and embarked on an internship and capstone project with the multinational company. There, he worked with the global supply chain unit where he used data analytics to identify pain points in the supply chain and developed innovative strategies to improve the customer experience. His perseverance and hard work impressed the management and his work was dubbed the “Best Intern Project” at the end of his internship. He also received the “Outstanding Capstone Paper” award for his submission.
Abhishek with Assoc Prof Tan Kok Choon of NUS Business School at the presentation of the “Outstanding Capstone Paper” award
“As it was a new industry for me, I needed to be very patient to understand the business, the project and the main problem and not be afraid of asking questions whenever in doubt,” he said.
The experiences he amassed during the programme also led him to clinch his dream job as a consultant with Ernst and Young Singapore. “I’m grateful for this opportunity, to be a part of a burgeoning business hub as well as an ecosystem that is filled with immense data analytics opportunities.”
Although his engineering and analytics backgrounds are very data-driven, Abhishek is well aware that crunching numbers alone is not enough when it comes to delivering business impact. Speaking from his experiences working as a consultant, he said, “The aim is not to build a model with the highest accuracy but to be able to use the model in business and showcase value.”
For example, it is just as important to be able to show a client how an advanced analytics solution could, in simplified terms, “make someone happy, save time, save money or increase profits”.
Finally, Abhishek is confident that those who appreciate the fact that analysing the right data will solve business problems, are the ones likely to go far in the field.
“Do not be afraid to make mistakes, learn, and improve,” said the driven and humble young man, who will read up and research whenever he comes across a new concept in his work. “This will enable you to develop new ideas and translate them into customer outcomes.”
For more information on the MSBA programme, please visit http://msba.nus.edu.sg/.
