My Industry Placement Program Experience at IAG as a BI Analyst

I am currently working on an exciting project in the Marketing Analytics department at IAG through the Business School's Industry Placement Program (IPP). My job is diverse and involves coding, statistical modeling and analysing key indicators that can affect consumers’ decisions in relation to purchasing insurance products.

It is interesting and satisfying to be able to transform random data into a set of useful insights and make recommendations to act upon.

I am studying for my Master of Commerce with majors in Business Analytics and Quantitative Finance. As I have already completed 3 semesters, I have gained theoretical knowledge in computing and statistics; so the IPP allows me to apply those in a practical context and see the whole picture. As part of the program I am performing a research project to help IAG come up with a smart strategy to tailor future marketing campaigns to customers based on their attitudes towards purchasing insurance products. The project is quite challenging, because the entire process needs to be done from scratch, and the input dataset is significantly complex, forcing me to think “out of the box”. IAG is helping me to develop all the key skills that are needed to be a professional BI Analyst, such as problem solving, statistical modelling and familiarity with SAS and R program languages.

No two days are the same. I work on preparing planning documents and documentation, coding in R and SAS, applying statistical modelling, exploring the analytics industry, and at the end of the program, I will present in front of my department. The IPP is allowing me to further develop my professional skills, as well as personal skills. I also have an amazing view from the 27th floor of the harbor, which gives me the inspiration I need to develop creative ideas.

 Spectacular view from our floor

From the first moment that I met both my mentor and supervisor, I felt really comfortable, and the rest of the team members are very friendly as well. My mentor guides and support my learning, so we can get the most out of the IPP. I know that my contribution to the project will help IAG to improve its marketing strategy.

Me and my team at Yum Cha on a casual Friday

Assaf Dekel
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School