LEARNER’S HANDBOOK
Post Graduate Program in Data Science
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Business Analytics
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WELCOME
The Post Graduate Program in Data Science and Business Analytics (PGP-DSBA) is delivered
by Great Learning in collaboration with Great lakes Institute of Management along with
University of Texas at Austin. It enables working professionals to pursue careers in Data Science
and Business Analytics with minimal disruption to working lives.
This handbook is designed to orient you to the many resources and opportunities available as
you begin your journey here. Use this guide to maximize your learning outcomes and have a
positive impact on your career, peers, and the Great Learning community.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
The PGP-DSBA program is rigorous and requires dedication and commitment from you to
achieve its learning outcomes. On average, you will need to dedicate 6 hours of time every
week to the program above and beyond what you spend in the classroom. It is critical that you
follow the timelines and keep up with the program since otherwise you risk falling significantly
behind from where it becomes very difficult to catch up. There are several mechanisms such
as reminders and notifications built into the system to help you maintain the schedule, but the
most important requirement is your commitment.
As you would be familiar by now, the Program is broadly organized into three modules.
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AKTSVJHUR9Foundations:
In the foundation’s module, you will be introduced to business analytics and will learn the
business concepts, context and terminology in the areas of finance, marketing and statistics
that are essential for you to follow the domain applications of analytics that will follow later.
You will also be introduced to the tool Python and the Jupyter IDE in this module.
Predominantly, Python would be the tool of choice used for analysis and visualization in core
courses like Statistical Methods for Decision Making, Advanced Statistics, Data Mining,
Predictive Modelling, Machine Learning and Time Series Forecasting.
Analytics Techniques:
In this module, you will learn the popular statistical and analytics techniques that are
commonly used in the industry for mining insights and generating predictions. As stated
earlier, Python will be used to illustrate all the techniques.
Domain Applications of Analytics:
In this module, you will be exposed to applications of analytical methods in a variety of
business domains, most of which would be presented by industry experts. The idea here is to
see some of the commonly encountered business problems in these domains and how they can
be solved using analytics techniques that you have learned in the earlier modules.
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Capstone Project:
The Capstone project allows you to apply your learning to a real life business problem under
the guidance of an industry expert. This is a great opportunity for you to demonstrate your
competency by taking up a business problem in your company and apply analytics to it. You
can also reach out to start-ups who need talent to solve their problems. If you are notable to do
a project with any company, you can also use publicly available datasets to developinsights and
demonstrate your capabilities.
CLASSROOM LEARNING
The residencies are an opportunity for you to learn from Great Learning faculty, industry
expertsand from your peers.
Orientation:
During your first visit to Great Learning center, you will meet with the Program
Director/Operations Head and other program staff. You will be given an overview of the
program. Use this opportunity to get to know the program representative that will support
you during the next 12 months.
You will also meet with your peers, who like yourself are, experienced working professionals.
Use this and forthcoming residencies to get to know your fellow classmates. Participants in
prior batches have had enhanced learning experiences, access to new career opportunities and
made lifelong friendships during the program.
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AKTSVJHUR9Preparing for the Residency:
One week prior to a residency, you will receive a welcome note providing a detailed schedule
of the courses and planned activities. Please check the Olympus (Learning Management
System) for the course outlines, reading material and other pre-class requirements you may
need to familiarize with before coming to the GL center.
Lunch & Tea:
Lunch and tea are provided on our centers.
ONLINE MENTOR LEARNING SESSION
There will be some courses in the program where the learning will be based entirely on
online videos and mentored learning session. In such courses, we follow a flipped classroom
model. For such courses, the program will have mentored learning sessions lined up almost
every weekend and you will be expected to come prepared after watching the pre-requisite
course content. The mentor led sessions will aid in the additional understanding of the
covered topics and will also provide avenues for doubt clearing.
TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED ONLINE LEARNING
Online learning, facilitated through a state-of-the-art, world class, Olympus (Learning
Management System), is an integral part of the program. The OLYMPUS is your primary
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information and communication exchange mechanism. It will provide access to the learning
material that is part of the various courses.
This includes pre-class reading material, case studies, exercises and data sets that may be used
in class, quizzes, assignments and online learning videos. It also has mechanisms for you to
communicate with the Program Office, Faculty and with each other.
Once you log in to the OLYMPUS please do the following:
1. Update your profile and name
2. Update your notification preference
You are requested to come to the first residency with Python (specifically the Jupyter
Notebook) installed.
The program curriculum consists of a combination of classroom courses, online mentor led
courses and a Capstone Project. Please refer to the Grading Policy Document, provided along
with the handbook, fordetails on the evaluation policy. While we encourage collaboration, we
expect participants to adhere to the highest standards of ethics and avoid plagiarism and
copying. Plagiarism will not be tolerated by the institute. If detected, the penalty may be
severe. In cases of copying, boththe parties will be penalized. Given that you are all experienced
professionals who are pursuingthis program with the primary objective of learning, you are
expected to follow the honor code and not indulge in unethical behaviour or plagiarism.
COMMUNICATIONS
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The program office is your partner in ensuring you achieve the desired learning outcomes. Use
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the following means to communicate to the Program Office and with your peers to get a timely
response to your queries.
Messages on the OLYMPUS:
Send a message to Program Office when clarification to your questions is intended to be
private using Support feature on Olympus Dashboard. These may include any of the
following :
1. Clarifications around a grade you received
2. Any other personal issues such as seeking permission to miss a residency due to travel etc.
Program Office will respond within 24-48 hours.
Announcements:
Program Office may also communicate with you when important information must be
solicited, shared or in response to your questions. Program office will post an announcement
when new course material is available, if there are any changes to upcoming courses and other
program related issues. These announcements will appear in your home page of the OLYMPUS.
Please ensure that you log in regularly and pay attention to any new announcements to ensure
that important information is not missed. You can also modify your communication
preferences so that an automated email is sent you whenever a new announcement is posted.
Notifications:
Notifications are automated system generated messages sent to the whole class whenever
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important new information is available. These may involve availability of grades, reminders
for an upcoming assignment due date and when assignments are released. These notifications
will also appear in your home page of the OLYMPUS. You may again modify your
communication preferences to receive an email whenever a notification is made.
FEE PAYMENTS
1. In case of non-payment or delay in payment of fees as per the schedule mentioned in
the admission offer letter, your Olympus (Learning Management System) will be
disabled automatically and will become active only once the payment for the due
instalment is made.
2. Extensions in fee payment are not allowed.
3. In case any candidate is availing loan facility to make the payment towards the program
fee, He/she shall initiate the loan process well in advance so that the payment can be
made as per the payment schedule mentioned in your admission offer. No further
extension will be provided to make the payment in case of delay in processing of the
loan from the financing agency or bank.
4. In case the candidate is making payment through cheque, the same should be submitted
with the admissions office (address mentioned in the admission offer) at least 7
working days before the payment due date.
5. In case of payments made through Loan/ Cheque/ DD: Candidate needs to share the
transaction detail, amount, date and bank name with the admissions team
(
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6. It is highly recommended that you make the payment using one of the online payment
modes made available to you as it will not cause any delay in updating your fee status
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Management System).
7. Please note that any query related to fee payment/OLYMPUS activation shall be made
between working days - Monday to Friday (10 AM to 6 PM) only. Any query reaching
the admissions team after the mentioned period will be taken up on the next working
day
8. As mentioned in the admission offer, fees once received will not be refunded.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Great Learning’s Honour system expects participants to act with integrity, respect community
standards, and manifest a commitment to ethical responsibility in all matters. This includes all
academic activities (interaction with other participants during group assignments, online
discussion etc.)
The honour system expects all participants to act professionally in all matters, including with
respect to resolution of disputes.
Classroom Etiquette:
High Professional standards are expected of all participants of PGP-DSBA. For enhanced,
classroom experience, we require you to abide by the following:
• Arrive On Time: On time arrival ensures that classes can start and finish at the
scheduled time.
• Minimize unscheduled personal breaks: The learning environment improves when
disruptions are limited.
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• Come fully prepared for each class: This programme is structured in such a way that
a lot of learning in this programme takes place during case/classroom discussions.
When you are not prepared then you cannot contribute to the overall learning process.
This affects not only the individual, but also their peers.
• Respect the views and opinions of peers: Disagreement and debate are encouraged.
Intolerance for the views of others is unacceptable.
• Please ensure laptops are closed and put away: When you are surfing the web,
responding to e‐ mail, instant messaging each other, and otherwise not devoting your
full attention to the topic at hand you are doing yourself and your peers a major
disservice. Participants cannot benefit from the insights of those who are not engaged.
It is also very distracting to the faculty.
• Phones and wireless devices are turned off/on silent. We've all heard the annoying
ringing in the middle of a meeting. Not only is it not professional, it cuts off the flow
of discussion.
• It would be appreciated if you do not leave early. If you will have to leave early for any
reason, intimate Program Manager in advance.
Attendance and Punctuality:
• Attendance for all the sessions (on-center and online) is compulsory. In case of
extraordinary circumstances (such as personal illness, injury, or close family
bereavement), prior intimation to Program Office is mandatory. Please get in touch
with the Program Manager for more details on penalties and other repercussions for
missing the classes.
• All participants are requested to mark attendance using Olympus Mobile Application
on the day of residency. In case of any technical glitches, please get in touch with
Program Office immediately. In any such cases, attendance will not be marked post 2
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days after the residency.
• Also, in the case of absentees for the residency, attendance marks will not be given at
any cost.
Respect the Facility:
Participants are expected to help maintain the chairs, overhead projector, display screen and
electrical fittings in the classroom and leave them in good usable condition. Vandalism and
defacing the walls and other property is strictly prohibited. Participants are expected to use
the trash cans to dispose unwanted material.
CONCLUSION
Once again, congratulations and welcome as you begin your journey with Great Learning.
Sincethe PGP-DSBA is a rigorous program, you will find that there may be many challenges –
academic and personal. But remember that we are here to encourage and support you as you
meet your learning objectives and achieve your career aspirations.
Happy Learning!!
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