Center for Data Analytics and Applied AI

About the Center for Data Analytics and Applied AI

• Mission

  The Center for Data Analytics and Applied AI at DeSales University's mission is to train the Lehigh Valley workforce and help local businesses compete in the new data economy. Activities to support innovation, recovery, and resilience include:

  • Technical Assistance: Hands-on education for full-time university students, part-time adult learners in local businesses, and master’s level students in the techniques of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), via online and classroom-based skill delivery and project work, emphasizing legal, ethical data management and sensitivity to bias and fairness in datasets for training and testing. To contribute to the economic recovery of the Lehigh Valley, DSU is committed to educating women, people of color, the disabled, and other underserved populations.
  • Workforce training: Provide robust training to students and local stakeholder employees in market-leading data analytics software and cloud-based AI platforms such as Tableau, SAS Enterprise Miner, Blue Prism RPA, Microsoft Azure, and deeplearning.ai.
  • Inclusive Outreach: Students and faculty will mentor local businesses, high and middle school students, especially girls and women, in the ethnically diverse and economically distressed inner-city Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton areas in data analytics.
  • Applied projects: Faculty and students work on data from local stakeholder firms (especially in advanced manufacturing, high-value business services, life science research and devices, health care, and shipping/logistics), non-profits, and other organizations in Lehigh Valley inner cities to encourage local job growth and investment.

• Education

  DeSales is a regional leader in data analytics education, offering bachelor's degrees — both traditional and online — minors, master's degree concentrations, and certificate programs.  

  • Faculty are nationally recognized professionals in the field who are professionally active. They connect textbook theory with real-world application of tools, processes, and methodologies.
  • Students have the opportunity to engage with experienced scholars, professionals, and practitioners who expose them to best practices within the field. Students learn from real-life scenarios, case studies, and project using the latest technologies applied in industry. 
  • Classes and program schedules are flexible, with full or part-time study options through in-class, hybrid (flex), or online education.

  See individual degree and program information below for additional details.

• Research

  Select research publications:

  • Brennan Pursell, Joshua Walker, Outsmarting AI: Power, Profit, and Leadership in the Age of Machines (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).
    Learn more on Rowman & Littlefield's website

• Outreach

  The Center for Data Analytics and Applied AI nurtures collaborative relationships with professionals in data analytics, data science, and AI, private businesses, local schools, healthcare organizations, government agencies, NGOs, and international entities. These relationships will provide inspiring opportunities for students in the form of internships and fieldwork opportunities.

• Advisory Board

  • Arjun Banerjee, PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Philip Barecca, Goldman Sachs
  • Dave Bushee, Penske
  • Karianne Gelinas, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.
  • Michael Golub, Merck
  • Christopher Johannessen, Reading Truck
  • Vishwa Ram, Penske
  • Christinia Tran, St. Luke’s University Health Network
  • Juan Vazquez, Accenture
  • Patricia Wakefield, Amwell Medical Group
  • Mackenzie Wildman, Evidation