Analytics Without Borders
Please join us in-person for the 8th Analytics Without Borders conference on April 4th (Friday), 2025 at Bentley University, in partnership with Bryant University, Tufts University, and Nichols College. This annual conference series seeks to foster collaboration among diverse analytics communities and serve as a platform for individuals from industry, academia, and government to present and discuss their work. Topics include applied statistics, optimization, data science, and more. We welcome anyone who works with data to share their insights. This year’s conference features keynote and major talks, two career panels, a tutorial session, and a student research competition (see competition details below). We also invite abstracts for talks and poster presentations. The abstract submission is open now, and extended to Mar 29, 2025.
Click HERE to submit your abstract for either oral presentation or student competition.
Click HERE to register for the conference.
Lunch is included with registration. Parking is available at no additional cost with registration.
Partners
The conference serves as a platform for individuals involved in various aspects of analytics to present and discuss their work, whether they come from corporate institutions, academia, or government organizations. This event aims to foster collaboration and bridge-building among diverse analytics communities.
The conference covers a wide range of topics in analytics, including applied statistics, optimization, data science, and more. We welcome anyone who works with data to share their insights. The conference sessions will feature a blend of corporate, academic, and government researchers and practitioners. Please join to share your project, experience, and opinion, by submitting your abstract.
We welcome sponsorship opportunities. Please contact Mingfei Li (MLI@bentley.edu) directly to discuss levels and benefits. directly. Detailed sponsorship levels and their awards can be notified later.
Student Research Competition
We strongly encourage both undergraduate and graduate students to submit their research or side projects. Moreover, we are excited to announce a student research competition co-sponsored by National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) during the conference, open to participating graduate and undergraduate students. The top three student projects in each level will receive the prestigious Excellent Student Research Award for AWB 2025 (including cash award and digital award certificate).
Student competition teams ( each team has no more than THREE students), please submit your abstract, team, and major contact person in the abstract submission form and indicate student competition presentation in the presentation preference. All students' competition presentations will be held in parallel tracks and judged by the competition committee. The winners will be announced before the closing of the conference.
For more details, please contact the chair of the student competition committee below.
Conference Organizing Committee
Mingfei Li (Chair) (Bentley University, mli@bentley.edu)
Moinak Bhaduri (Bentley University, mbhaduri@bentley.edu)
Luke Cherveny (Bentley University, lcherveny@bentley.edu)
Kristine Cirino (Bentley University, kcirino@bentley.edu)
Mengyan Li (Bentley University, mengyangli@bentley.edu)
Tony Ng (Bentley University, tng@bentley.edu)
Jiaying Weng (Bentley University, jweng@bentley.edu)
Piaomu Liu (Bentley University, pliu@bentley,edu) (Liaison of NISS)
Student Competition Committee
Jiaying Weng (Chair) (Bentley University, jweng@bentley.edu)
Mengyan Li (Bentley University, mengyangli@bentley.edu)
Chandrakant Maheshwari (FVP, Lead Model Validator, Flagstar Bank)
Mike McGuirk (Associate Professor of Practice, Marketing Division, Babson University)
Moinak Bhaduri (Bentley University, mbhaduri@bentley.edu)
Keynote Speakers
Sheamus McGovern founded ODSC (The Open Data Science Conference), one of the world’s leading AI conferences and communities. He also serves as a Venture Partner and Head of AI at Cortical Ventures, a venture fund focused on advancing AI and machine learning innovation. Prior to founding ODSC, Sheamus had a diverse career as a data engineer, software architect,, and AI expert. His professional journey began in finance, where he worked for leading financial institutions and quantitative hedge funds. Over the years, he has consulted with startups and enterprises in finance, healthcare, and eCommerce, helping develop cutting-edge, data-driven applications and AI solutions. Sheamus holds degrees from Northeastern University, Boston University, and Harvard University, as well as a Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF).
Title: The AI Workforce: How AI is Reshaping Business and Analytics
Abstract:
AI is no longer just a tool—it is becoming an integral part of the workforce, fundamentally reshaping how businesses operate, how decisions are made, and how analytics and data science evolve. This represents a shift to augmentation, where AI functions as a collaborative partner, enhancing human capabilities rather than replacing them. As AI takes on more responsibilities, it increasingly behaves like an AI employee—capable of executing tasks, generating insights, and working alongside human teams.
Yet, while AI's potential is huge, businesses often misunderstand its challenges. Many underestimate the complexity of engineering, the (current) need for systematic prompting, and the compute power required to sustain it. The simplistic narrative of AI "replacing jobs" fails to capture what's actually happening: a granular redistribution of tasks that demands we rethink traditional work patterns.
To stay relevant, organizations and professionals should embrace AI's rapidly evolving capabilities - from reasoning models that can tackle complex problems to agentic systems that autonomously manage workflows. Those who develop fluency with these emerging AI advancements won't just adapt to change - they'll drive it. The future demands a deep understanding of where AI adds value and where human intuition remains indispensable. Ultimately, the future of work is not about humans or AI alone—it's about how we build systems where both thrive together
John Chan is a technology executive, trained as a scientist and engineer, with over 25 years of industry experience in computational sciences and informatics. He has led computational teams, built informatics capabilities, and translated ideas into products for global biopharma and biotech start-ups. He is currently the head of the ShinrAI Center for AI and Machine Learning at Takeda. Prior to joining Takeda, John built a neuroscience AI company, Syllable Life Sciences, and as its CEO, led its acquisition by Neumora. Before Syllable, John held several contributor and management roles in computational biology, bioinformatics, and enterprise IT. This includes tenure as a visiting scientist at the Broad Institute, an Executive Director and Head of Informatics and Technology at Novartis, and the Head of computational biology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he led the innovative team that fueled Millennium's drug discovery partnerships. John earned a B.Sc. in population genetics from Marlboro College and a Ph.D. in genetics and molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Title: Navigating the Future: AI's Transformative Role in Pharmaceutical Data Science and Business Analysis.
Abstract:
As artificial intelligence continues to transform industries, its impact on pharmaceuticals is both significant and extensive. This talk examines how AI is reshaping the roles of data scientists and business analysts in drug development. We will explore the evolving nature of these roles, identifying functions being automated and highlighting emerging opportunities for future professionals. Additionally, we will explore the skills data scientists and business analysts may need to cultivate to adapt and thrive in this rapidly changing landscape.
Major Talk
Victor S.Y. Lo is a Big Data, Analytics, Marketing, and Finance leader with over three decades of extensive consulting and corporate experience employing data-driven solutions in a wide variety of business areas, including Customer Relationship Management, Market Research, Advertising Strategy, Risk Management, Financial Econometrics, Insurance, Product Development, Transportation, Healthcare, Operations Management, and Human Resources. He is a pioneer of uplift modeling, a subfield of data science.
Victor has led data science and analytics teams in multiple business units at Fidelity Investments for over two decades, and is currently SVP, Data Science & AI in Workplace Investing at Fidelity. He has pioneered many analytics practices such as marketing mix, uplift modeling, causal inference, quantitative risk analytics, healthcare analytics, and AI ethics. Prior to Fidelity, he was VP of Modeling and Analysis at FleetBoston Financial (now Bank of America) and Senior Associate at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman). Victor earned a master’s degree in Operational Research and a PhD in Statistics, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Management Science. For academic services, he has been serving on the board of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) and the Steering Committee of the Boston Chapter of INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences), and also on the editorial boards of three academic journals including Harvard Data Science Review (HDSR) and Frontiers in AI. Additionally, he is publishing a graduate level textbook on causal inference in business (Cause-and-Effect Business Analytics and Data Science) with co-authors and has been active in research on AI ethics, causal inference, design of experiments, and prescriptive analytics.
Title: Essential Business Analytics Topics in the Era of AI - from Industry Perspectives
Abstract
Business analytics and data science have never stopped growing in this age of AI and Big Data. The academic literature covers important analytics areas from the research perspectives. In this talk, I will introduce key business analytics and data science topics from the industry points of view in the era of AI. These topics are important for meeting business and industry demand today and also for education and career development. Additionally, our discussion may be useful for academic researchers interested in industry applications.
Co-Sponsors
Morning Career Discussion Panel: The Analytics Job Market
Learn from industry experts how to best craft your resume, ace interviews, what skills to focus on, and how to manage your timeline in order to land your first analytics role.
Allison Mega (DraftKings, Talent Acquisition Specialist)
Emma Zhou (Boston Scientific, Senior Data Science & AI Manager)
Gina Salcedo Lannin (Takeda, Senior Manager of Business Analytics and Insight)
Rachel White (Bentley University, Associate Director of Graduate and Alumni Career Development)
Afternoon Career Discussion Panel: Career Paths in Analytics
Explore the diverse directions your analytics career can take, from leadership to specialized technical fields, with insights from seasoned professionals in a variety of industries who have paved the way.
Deepa Chandrachud (Fidelity, Senior Analyst)
Elif Kaya (Chewy, Data Scientist)
Ying Wu (Boston Scientific, Senior Data Scientist)
Tutorial Session: Using AI in Python through HuggingFace Transformers
Speaker: Dr. Nathan Carter, Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Bentley University
Description: HuggingFace is the largest online community for sharing AI and ML models. The set of available models is of tremendous diversity, including natural language processing, computer vision, reinforcement learning, multimodal, and more. HuggingFace also publishes a Python library called "transformers" for importing those models from the web and applying them to data. This workshop will show attendees how to browse HuggingFace for various types of models, then import and apply their chosen model to data. Attendees who bring a laptop can join the interactive portions of the workshop, using notebooks provided on Google Colab.
Additional Conference Details
Students, faculty, and practitioners are invited to submit an abstract for either a 15-minute talk or a poster presentation. Abstract submission is now open with a extended deadline of March 29, 2025.
Please click here to submit abstracts. Also register for the conference.
Registration for the 8th Analytics Without Borders conference is open.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR 2025 ANALYTICS WITHOUT BORDERS
Speakers, panelists, and moderators should also register in order to receive conferences updates.
The conference will be held at Bentley University's campus. Please find the campus map here.
The conference sessions will be at the Adamian Academic Center (AAC) and Lindsey Hall (Lin).
If you drive to the campus, you can park for Lot 6, Lot 7, Lot 8 and Lot 9, or general parking Lot 1W (on the campus map). There is no parking fee for this event.
The tentative program and schedule is below:
The 8th Analytics Without Borders Conference Schedule | |||||
Start | End | Main Track (Wilder Pavilion AAC 165) | Track 1 (Research talks) at Lin26A | Track 2 (Research talks) at Lin28 | Tutorial Session at AAC141 |
| 8:20 | 9:00 | Check-in, breakfast and coffee | |||
| 9:00 | 9:05 | Opening announcement and instructions | |||
| 9:05 | 9:20 | Welcome speech by Sanjay Putrevu, Business Dean of Bentley University | |||
| 9:20 | 10:20 | Keynote by Sheamus McGovern The AI Workforce: How AI is Reshaping Business and Analytics | |||
| 10:30 | 11:20 | Morning Career Panel: The Analytics Job Market (Moderater: Luke Cherveny) | 1A (Chair: Tony Ng ) | 2A (Chair: Jiaying) | 10:50am-12:20pm host by Nathan Carter |
| 11:30 | 12:20 | Major talk By Victor Lo Essential Business Analytics Topics in the Era of AI - from Industry Perspectives | 1B (Chair: Moinak Bhaduri ) | TBD | |
| 12:20 | 13:20 | Lunch break | |||
| 13:30 | 14:20 | Afternoon Career Panel: Career Paths in Analytics (Moderater: Luke Cherveny) | 1C (Chair: Mengyan Li) | ||
| 14:30 | 15:20 | Poster session reviews and Coffee hours | |||
| 15:30 | 16:30 | Keynote by John Chan Navigating the Future: AI's Transformative Role in Pharmaceutical Data Science and Business Analysis. | |||
| 16:30 | 16:35 | Closing annoucement and student competition award | |||
| All time are Eastern Time Zone | |||||
Undergraduate and graduate students are strongly encouraged to submit an abstract for a poster presentation. Student posters will be entered in the student research competition and judged during parallel tracks by the competition committee. The prestigious Excellent Student Research Award for AWB 2025 will be awarded to the top three projects in each of
undergraduate and graduate research categories. Winners will be announced at the conference close.
To enter the student research competition, please submit an abstract here before the extended deadline March 29, 2025, and also register for the conference here. Each team may have no more than three students.
For questions, please contact Jiaying Weng directly (jweng@bentley.edu, Student Research Competition Chair).
The 1st Analytics Without Borders Conference program (hosted by Bentley University)
The 3rd Analytics Without Borders Conference program(hosted by Bentley University)
The 5th Analytics Without Borders conference program and schedule (hosted by Tufts University)
The 6th Analytics Without Borders conference program and schedule (hosted by Bentley University)
The 7th Analytics Without Borders conference program and schedule (hosted by Bryant University)