Academic program sets students up for success with industry-ready data and AI skills

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Victoria, Australia is an international university of technology and design and is Australia’s largest tertiary institution. With over 90,000 students from 194 different countries, RMIT is ranked in the top 125 universities worldwide¹. RMIT’s main campus is situated in the Melbourne central business district, positioning it in a hub of data-driven innovation in Australia. Its prime location acts as a magnet for attracting the brightest technology minds from around the world, and the university’s program has a high number of international students – testament to RMIT’s history as a technology education leader.

RMIT has partnered with SAS for more than 20 years, integrating SAS technology into its teaching and skilling students with hands-on experience in using SAS’ globally recognised data and AI technology. This close partnership combines the attraction of studying and living in Melbourne, with the invaluable experience of a curriculum infused with SAS, ensuring students’ skills will be in demand wherever their career takes them after graduation.

The SAS Academic Specialisation, which is offered in both RMIT’s Bachelor and Master programs in Maths and Analytics, ensures students use SAS software to address real-world business problems, fusing together the theoretical and the practical to enhance students’ job readiness.

The SAS Academic Program combines free educational resources to postgraduate and undergraduate students, alongside Work Integrated Learning (WIL) projects, seminars and competitions to offer a holistic educational experience.

For Associate Professor Yan Wang, Program Manager (Bachelor of Analytics), Work Integrated Learning Academic Coordinator, RMIT School of Science, the partnership has grown in importance with each year.

Of particular importance for Wang is the WIL projects and the value students gain. “Students gain valuable industry experience by participating in real-world projects that bridge academic learning with practical application.

“Starting from 2023, our WIL collaboration with SAS has successfully placed 16 students in WIL projects. This collaboration helps foster an analytics-driven culture across our programs and strengthens our connections with industry,” said Wang.

According to Associate Professor Mali Abdollahian, Program Manager, Master of Analytics and Master of Statistics and Operations Research, the joint SAS and RMIT Advanced Analytics Certificate has grown significant momentum since its launch in 2018., with the Master of Analytics at RMIT becoming one of the largest analytics programs in Australia.

Living proof of the benefits of the collaboration is Livia Nathania Fireta, who recently completed her Master of Analytics.

"I chose to study at RMIT and applied for the Master of Analytics because I’ve always been attracted to the power of data, where I can use data to uncover patterns, tell stories, and support better decisions,“ said Fireta.

The combination of RMIT and SAS has proved invaluable in accelerating Fireta’s learning.

“Through the SAS Academic Specialisation in Advanced Analytics as part of the Master program, I gained a wide range of analytics knowledge and hands-on skills. This included statistical analysis, data cleaning and exploration, predictive modelling, and data visualisation using SAS software,” said Fireta.

Curiosity has also remained a constant part of the learning journey. “Working with data and discovering the story behind it has been an exciting part of my journey. It feels like solving puzzles that really make a difference, said Fireta.

For RMIT, the collaboration with SAS continues to grow momentum, with more students participating in WIL projects, more graduate stories to showcase and enrolling more students in SAS Hackathons, SAS Viya for Learners challenges and the SAS Curiosity Cup all on the roadmap as ambitions in the years to come.