Two OSU teams make top 5 of business analytics competition
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Media Contact: Jeff Hopper | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-1050 | jeff.hopper@okstate.edu
Two business analytics teams from the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University have made it into the top five of the 2023 Humana Mays Analytics Case Competition hosted by Texas A&M University.
The Mays Business School and Humana Inc. kicked off the seventh edition of the event earlier this fall. The competition invites teams of two to four students from universities across the country to devise a solution to a real-world problem and then present their ideas throughout multiple rounds of material submissions, presentations and Q&As.
Over 500 teams entered this year’s competition. The first round narrowed the field to 50 teams, 12 from OSU. Those teams were then asked to further develop their solution and provide details on the impact their solutions would have on the business. Those submissions were judged and the final five teams were selected on Oct. 27, which included two teams from OSU.
“I am delighted to have two of our teams in the top 5 for this prestigious competition,” said Dr. Goutam Chakraborty, director of the masters in business analytics and data science program (MS BAnDS). “This is an extremely tough competition with more than 500 teams from universities across the country.”
The final five teams will give their final presentations on Nov. 9 to a panel of Humana executives and faculty from Texas A&M and the final placements will be announced. Teams are competing for cash prizes as follows:
1st place - $50,000
2nd place - $20,000
3rd place - $10,000
4th & 5th place - $5,000
“The Humana-Mays competition is a very demanding competition where we work on a problem in different stages,” said Shreyan Datta Chakraborty, a member of one of the OSU finalist teams. “This gives us an idea on the data science life cycle of a problem starting from fitting models, to developing a comprehensive report and finally a presentation.”
Both teams recognize the benefits of working and providing innovative solutions to real-world problems.
“Working on the Humana-Mays competition was an incredibly challenging experience,” said Ranjith Kumar, a grad student in the MS BAnDS program and finalist team member. “The complex data and real-world health care problem drove us to push our known creative limits. I had a blast working with my talented teammates as we adapted and collaborated effectively with an ultimate goal to learn. The biggest motivator for my team was realizing that our solution could potentially make a real difference in the healthcare system.”
The students on the final two OSU teams are:
Team 1 - Ranjith Kumar Kuppu Rathinam, Asif Syed, Landrie Alsobrook and Shubhi Gupta
Team 2 - Shreyan Datta Chakraborty, Roe Djer Tan, Frankle Muchahary and Ritwik Roy Chowdhury
“I am very proud that 12 of our teams made the first cut of 50 teams and then these two teams are now vying for the top 3 places along with three other teams from other universities,” Dr. Chakraborty said. “This is testament of our students’ hard work. I wish our two teams the very best for the final round.”
Each of the teams also realize the impact that Dr. Chakraborty has on the program and its students.
“A huge thank you to Dr. C, who pushes us to be a better version of ourselves throughout the program and this would not have been possible without his constant support and guidance on all fronts,” Shreyan said.
“Dr. C is constantly encouraging and supporting us to engage in such wonderful opportunities to learn beyond books,” Kumar said.
For more information about the master’s in business analytics program at OSU, visit the website.