SAS India has announced its association with Faculty of Agriculture & Allied Sciences, Ganpat University (GUNI) for a two-year full-time postgraduate program in Agriculture Analytics (M.Sc.)
The association is significant to SAS due to its genesis from an agricultural data analysis project at North Carolina State University. Globally agriculture is undergoing significant changes to pave the way forward for accessing safe, affordable, nutritious foods that is produced sustainably. Analytics will play a crucial role here so that agriculture can be data-driven enabling collection and analysing data from IoT devices through connected farm equipment – smart tractors, drones, etc. Agriculture is a robust sector in India and an important source of livelihood for vast majority of its rural population. Given the importance of the sector to the Indian economy it becomes imperative that universities also impart training that can help the sector adopt emerging technologies like data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
GUNI has been known for its strong industry connect and industry-linked programs in various domains. They have state-of-the-art infrastructure and intellectual legacy for making classroom and practical learning more enjoyable and intriguing. This program has been launched at a very opportune time considering global opportunity outlook in field of agriculture analytics.
“It is crucial to enable young graduates in applied analytics for agriculture sector that is at cusp of digital transformation. Launching this program with Ganpat University, our core partner and contributor to the mission is a matter of pride for us. This multidisciplinary program will usher in the era of predictive agriculture. It will train and develop dynamic students to take up careers in the agriculture sector and gain expertise beyond academics such as project planning and implementation and help them to transform themselves into confident Agripreneurs”, said Bhuvan Nijhawan, Senior Director, Education, SAS Asia Pacific.
“India, an agrarian economy and nation has ample scope of employment in the agriculture sector, said Dr.Maurvi Vasavada, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture and Allied Sciences, Ganpat University. The program aims to impart the analytical skills in areas like crop yield & weather forecasting, precision farming and decision making, agri-market, predictive modelling for agriculture, soil health analysis, amongst others. This analytical perspective is designed to develop expertise among the professionals who can readily work with the industry as strategic decision makers thereby contributing to the growth of our economy.”
SAS courses and practical case studies enables students to obtain SAS global certification and the skills can be ratified and showcased through SAS digital badges.