Month: October 2022

FYI: Record number of non-asset based 3PLs at our career fairs. These freight brokerage firms have numerous jobs. Note, they tend to be SALES related, so it is all about fit. 3PLs Need Data Analytics to Save Money. Solution? Hire WMU students that minor in Business Data Analytics:1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau, Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib);3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data...

New trend/question when managers ask me about students: How professional is their email communication & attention to detail? Hmm. Hey College Students: Do not begin an email message with “Hey” & always finish it with “Thank you.” Most college students do the bulk of their electronic communication via text messaging. Standards for emailing are different, especially in academic settings. Students' emails WILL 100% influence the way their professors view them. On avg, professionals spend 28% of...

Full disclosure: I wish this was WMU & Kzoo (but I am still happy for the GREAT people at Ferris & in Big Rapids). Ferris State was a major reason why the Chinese company was interested in building its new battery mfg plant in Big Rapids, Ferris State President Bill Pink said. EV battery manufacturer Gotion was approved for $715M in public incentives Wed as part of a deal to...

Well said: "Many recruiters visiting campus have expressed interest in students’ knowledge and problem-solving experience with sustainability matters, regardless of their major," Drobny says. "The Bronco Challenge will help students understand the power of problem-solving done by diverse, cross-functional teams. In the 'world of work,' most work is done in teams, and team experience is a factor that recruiters employ when recommending candidates for hire."https://lnkd.in/gPy2_3rW Currently every WMU business major has...

This sounds like a big deal: New scholarships would offer up to $5,500/yr for students at Michigan’s public universities, 3/4 MI families would be eligible, State will spend > $560M/yr on program when fully implemented. https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/michigan-invest-560m-scholarships-ease-college-affordability-crisis "To qualify, students must be from families where the “expected family contribution” — based on household income and ability to pay — is less than $25,000. An online calculator estimates that a family of four with one...

Reminder...Dear Colleagues & Students, We are hosting the Business Analytics Students Case Competition as a part of the 2022 ICHITA-IT Forum joint Conference. The competition tests the participating teams' data manipulation, analysis, interpretation, reporting, and presentation skills. Please share the following message (or the attached flyer) with your undergraduate students and motivate them to participate in the competition.  https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_business-data-analytics-always-looks-great-activity-6985764543989776384-FBWi?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Dear Students! Here is a great opportunity to showcase your data processing, analysis, and...

The producer price index, a measure of prices that U.S. businesses get for the goods & services they produce: 12-month basis, PPI rose 8.5%, which was a slight deceleration from the 8.7% in August. FYI: The Fed has responded by raising rates 5 times this year for a total of 3% points. Interesting: A big contributor to that increase was a 6.4% jump in prices received for traveler accommodation services. Final demand goods...

I have so many world class international students that are very hungry for American professional work experiences (i.e., internships) & they are often told by employers: we do not hire international students. Why? The paperwork? There is none for an international student if they are here legally (i.e., they are given a SS# w/ their student visa). I get it, it is complicated. Some do not have STEM degrees, so there is...

Another college rankings list (this one has cool pics though). Note, Secretary Miguel A. Cardona called college rankings “a joke,” & took aim at selective colleges’ obsession w/them...https://lnkd.in/gv_vZ4k9. I have been talking to high schoolers & the parents also appear to be too focused on rankings. Pay attention to what matters most- not rankings!...especially at the undergrad level. (Yes, I still wish my school was ranked higher than #285). UM...

“So far, reductions in staffing have not kept pace with declines in enrollment. A few schools ended the last decade with more administrators despite the fact that they had fewer students.” https://www.mlive.com/business/2022/10/michigans-public-universities-have-lost-45000-students-since-2011-its-about-to-get-worse.html “Many observers already see the tuition increases at the state’s public universities — which outpaced inflation by nearly 15 percent on average between 2011 and 2021 — as unsustainable.” “The state’s flagship universities might not feel the impact...