The Alfalak Business Analytic Services (BAS) Division, in collaboration with SAS, recently conducted a series of seminars to introduce the SAS academic programme for educational institutions.

The seminars were designed to assist and empower students and lecturers with the knowledge of predictive analytics, a statement from BAS said. It was held at King Saud University (KSU) and the Institute of Public Administration (IPA).

Murray de Villiers, the general manager of the MEA academic programme in SAS Institute, SAS South Africa, served as the keynote speaker of the two seminars. South Africa is among the countries where the SAS academic programme has been successfully implemented.

Gerrit Brand, head of technology at Business Analytic Services (BAS), also took part in the seminar and introduced the Alfalak BAS Division and the services it offers.

Ahmed Ashadawi, President and CEO, Alfalak, said: “Alfalak has always been eager to support the academic community by sharing our best practices and experiences through various seminars and workshops that we organise in collaboration with leading universities and other academic institutions.”

“The series of seminars that we have recently organised is particularly important as we aim to introduce the new academic programme for educational institutions, which will assist and empower students and lecturers with the knowledge of predictive analytics. It was encouraging to note that both events were received with great enthusiasm and interest,” he said.

“We will build on the success of these seminars to organise similar activities that ultimately benefit the greater community and enhance the reputation of Alfalak and SAS among our target audiences,” Ashadawi added.

The curriculum of the programme will enable students to discover the true power of predictive analytics, the statement said. They can then apply the knowledge when they become part of the workforce and assist management and CEOs to effectively analyse data and answer questions such as “Why is this happening?”, “What if these trends continue?”, “What will happen next?” and “What is the best that can happen?”

The BAS Division has been responsible for business intelligence (BI) by applying predictive analytics at Alfalak for over 30 years using SAS. It has a dedicated workforce consisting of employees and local and international business partners, responsible for delivering BI professional services, BI technical support and BI training with close to 100 man years IT working experience. – TradeArabia News Service