Today, Dr. Pelaez presented a speech on how companies are using analytics to transform their organization to students and faculty at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. He spoke about the exciting field the students were entering, and provided the students with a glimpse of what their promising future holds. The talk, lasting over an hour and a half, highlighted the necessary skills companies require for students to land quality high paying jobs in analytics.

There is so much untapped talent in Puerto Rico. It’s a gem if companies can realize its’ potential. – Dr. Alex Pelaez

Dr. Pelaez presented a variety of techniques used by companies, such as cluster analysis, support vector machines and neural networks. In addition, he showcased an example using principal component analysis for determining how Net Promoter Scores vary between respondents, and which attributes customers more closely related to their particular score.

“It is so important to educate students in the opportunities available to them, and not just show them statistical and analytical techniques. Learning is a dynamic process and there needs to be a complete approach that gives the students the right tools and guides them in their practical application.”

With the increasing shortage of qualified analytical professionals, Dr Pelaez believes that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico could be a major beneficiary of this shortage by training students to meet this shortage. By promoting business analytics, and inspiring students to enter this dynamic field, he hopes that the Commonwealth can become a silicon valley of the Caribbean.

Five Element Analytics is committed to helping bring this message to university students everywhere, including Puerto Rico, and is excited to be a part of this initiative. “We hope to continue these activities here in Puerto Rico, and we hope we can become an integral part of the revitalization of the island.”