A post-graduate work initiative in data analytics that’s helped participants secure coveted jobs at prominent Canadian organizations has earned Brock University’s Goodman School of Business top honours from a leading international accreditation body.

The Robot Training Academy (RTA), a collaboration between Goodman’s Centre for Business Analytics (CBA) and longtime industry partner Rel8ed Analytics, garnered recognition from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) with its prestigious Innovations That Inspire award. This annual program recognizes institutions worldwide that reimagine business education to be more relevant, equitable and impactful.

The spotlight this year is on schools that forge partnerships to shape market-responsive curricula and engage with local and global organizations from across sectors to address complex challenges.

“This year’s Innovations That Inspire honorees exemplify the power of collaboration between business and higher education in driving positive change,” says Lily Bi, AACSB President and CEO. “The Goodman School of Business Centre for Business Analytics’ dedication to industry-centred education showcases how business schools are fostering innovation and ensuring graduates enter the workforce ready to make an immediate impact.”

The RTA launched in 2021 to address skills gaps and meet the evolving needs of industry employers. Designed with Rel8ed’s CEO, Robert Lytle, the program complements students’ classroom learning with specialized, hands-on training using in-demand software and real data.

Over seven weeks, students access skills training modules that grant them micro-credentials to include on their resumés. Top students are then offered co-op positions to work on community projects requiring data analysis, with past work including Goodman’s accreditation team, a global research and consultancy firm and a global media and events company, among others.

“The RTA was designed to bolster curriculum learning while supporting the very particular needs of community organizations,” says Anteneh Ayanso, CBA Director. “Robot Training Academy provides tailored, industry-focused training for students and makes them available to community organizations needing data processing, gathering and analyzing.

“It’s a project that successfully demonstrates academic and industry co-ordination, and interdisciplinary co-ordination,” he adds. “If you don’t have the right collaboration, if students don’t have complementary skills, simply having a degree won’t meet the needs of industry.”

The program’s co-op students have gone on to land larger roles with big-name organizations, Lytle says, demonstrating the program’s immediate impact on both industry and trainees.

“It’s the students who did this,” he says. “This award recognizes the students themselves and their true abilities. This was a student-led program that turned them into powerhouses.”

The program has also directly aided Rel8ed, Lytle adds. In 2023, the company was acquired by a major global insurance firm based on the strength of its research program and staff, and it continues to hire and train Brock and RTA students to support its expanded global workload.

Plans are underway to revitalize the RTA by adding a research component, Ayanso says. This ensures the program continues to provide students with the highest quality, skills-based training that meets industry needs, including at the local level.

“It aligns with the AACSB and it’s what we’re striving for,” he says. “We’re happy to see it as a highlight of classroom innovation. The award affirms what we believe in and is giving more motivation to extend this training in the future and extend our collaborations.”