Student Testimonials
Words from our students!
The class turned out to be just as it was described in the syllabus; I hate a bait and switch description. Initially, I was dubious about the learning value of the yFL assignment, but, in the end, I found it to be enjoyable, engaging, and incredibly practical. It also provided a vehicle for me to practice applying all of my many years of knowledge and wisdom. Given my final score, it looks like I need more knowledge and wisdom however. The only criticism I have of the assignment is: as I became more engrossed in it, I found myself wanting a faster feedback loop; I wanted to learn where I was falling down sooner than later. I’m not sure if the scoreboard could be updated more quickly in the future, but, if possible, I recommend doing it. It was great to get a solid introduction and some practice with Alteryx in a forecasting context. I knew about the tool and had heard good things about it, but never had the opportunity to use it prior to taking this class. I was most impressed with the real-world models that Professor Ponton demonstrated. In particular, the model that dealt with the effects of a shift in the demand curve was simply outstanding. Super cool stuff, and, obviously, very practical. Ten weeks isn’t enough time to become proficient with the tool, but it is enough time to become dangerous with it and to get a sense of how to move forward if more learning is desired. In the end, I think the class was successful in exposing the students to the notion of “fusing left brain thinking with right brain creativity”. Given the top yFL scores, it is obvious that many of the students embraced this idea enthusiastically. Finally, on a more personal level, I enjoyed the class immensely, and I hope this class remains a part of the curriculum for many years to come.
I would like to thank you for the amazing class and excellent takeaways! I had an interview today for a data analyst position, and I used one of your tricks to prepare for the interview! I reviewed the company’s second-quarter financial report and used it in one of the questions. And the interviewer was amazed! She invited me to interview with the VP next week - moment of panic!!! I just wanted to thank you for everything. This class was one of the best classes in this program. I appreciate it!
Again, many thanks for a great class. Also, I was thrilled to hear that you and Professor Ponton will be returning to the program next year. This is an important subject and nowhere else in the curriculum is it taught.
I want to thank you for teaching Applied Forecasting Model this quarter. This subject helped me understand many topics related to finance and prediction overall in different industries. I had an interview with a financial company where I spoke about forecasting for 30 mins in a one-hour call. I was talking about techniques I use for financial-based forecasting and the steps I need to take to reach a forecast. This subject and my interests gave me the extra edge I needed to crack that interview. Thank you once again!
I want to say that I am really enjoying this course so far and it is actually the course that I learn the most in the past few semesters.
As you taught me and the class about what the predictions in real business world would be like, I faced a similar situation this week during an interview to be asked to predict a sales number. I find it easy and I can think of many different scenarios to discuss with the interviewee. I want to say that I really learned a lot from you and Michael and I indeed like the course a lot.
Your class was the best class in the analytics program
I like how professional the lecturer is, lessons are fun, interactive and useful
Good vibe, keep it up
I actually owe you both a HUGE thank you for it! You both sparked my interest in advanced analytics when you were working with Eaton. It made me realize that my work was more reporting rather than analytics, despite my title. I wanted to do what you both did (and which is still my long-term goal since that doesn’t happen without years of experience). You also introduced me to the MSBA program. I wouldn’t have considered grad school if it weren’t for working with that team. I can’t say thank you both enough for the inspiration! If there’s ever any way I can return the favor, don’t hesitate to reach out.
You are an outlier – very rarely does someone get close to 90% the first time teaching a module! A big thank you – we need you with SHMS for as long as possible (I said it before the evaluations too).
I took your Forecasting class in winter quarter and had such fun. I also recently listened to your podcast with my classmate Ankit and Mira and felt super inspired by hearing how Economics weigh in your work!
Thank you for your presentation today, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I know we were discussing at the end and I was hoping I could follow up with a few more questions I have. A short phone call or a short meeting would work. I am interested in a career toward analytics and see you as the perfect person to get advice from. Thanks again for coming today.
Extremely appreciative of David Savlowitz and Michael Ponton for not only being amazing professors and teaching us both technical and soft skills that are important in Data Science, but also coming on to our podcast and offering advice and insights for our listeners who want to get into the field.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude as I have learned a lot from you and benefited from your Data Driven Decision Making course. 8 weeks is just too short for us and I wish that we can have more time to have lectures with you! I really enjoyed your lecture and as always you challenged me to push further and to learn more. As you mentioned before in class, it would be great if I could have more workshops and resources to learn Data-Analytics and gain more knowledge in this field from you if this is possible. Thank you very much for your amazing lectures!
I definitely learned new things from your classes about how to be a great analyst and how to use data effectively and look at them like an artist who looks at a piece of art. What I also liked is the prediction game you designed. Indeed, the game was not easy. However, we made a lot of mistakes and definitely learned from them and improved. The Data Driven Decision Making course is for sure one of my favourite courses I have had in SHMS! Thank you very much and I wish you all the best.
I asked the students today how I should build on your material and got an overwhelmingly (unprompted) positive feedback on what you did for them 😊. I’ve got BIG shoes to fill!
I wanted to thank both of you for taking time to personally coach me when I was going through a small crisis last week. Talking to both of you and the individual attention I was able to receive prepped me super well for the exam. I was able to get through it without too many major hiccups. My numbers were a bit off in the end, and I’m realizing now it’s probably because I only included 60 rows of data from one of the datasets… but still I can’t believe how much progress I’ve made with all the class material in just one week.
Great balance of Arts and Science parts to each session. I enjoy the fact that we start with some over-arching ideas before diving into the Alteryx/Tableau technical parts. Connections to real-world use cases i.e. Super Bowl and Stock Forecasting is also a refreshing take, much different than courses with other Professors.
I think the class format is perfect. First half is all about theories and philosophy, while the second half is more hands-on. Usually my other classes drag but the way this class is taught it makes class fly by, which is good because it keeps me engaged the entire time.
Really captures your attention. You can tell that he has a lot of knowledge in this field and it is exciting to learn from someone who deals with predictive analytics on a daily basis. He has very high expectations of his students which leads them to try hard.
He has the power to make people listen when he talks - I enjoy listening to his stories.
He motivates students' interest of study.
Really enjoyed this course, the way class sessions were structured allowed for me to stay engaged the entire time.
Love your keynote speeches; interactive professor and great hands on assignments, love your required readings.
Professor Savlowitz is extremely engaging, and makes lecture very interesting.
Great instructor, he and Michael are a great duo.
Brings energy and enthusiasm to conceptual applications of forecast modeling. Also making the class fun and real world applicable. Out of all the classes in the program, this class probably gave me the most useable advice and tips for real world working experience.
Professors Savlowitz and Ponton do an amazing job with this class. It is by far the best course we have had in the program thus far. They combine real-world theory & ideas with more technical learning as well.
Loved both the art and science aspects of the class. I feel David and Michael are a good duo that successfully strike a good balance between technical and creative.
Loved this course. My favorite of the entire program so far! Loved the creative projects that really helped simulate real world applications.
Thank you for a great quarter Professors!
Great experience! The classroom is open to questions and creates a productive learning environment.
I love attending my Applied Forecast Modeling class. Professor Savlowitz is a great lecturer. He has a lot of experience in the field and always links academic information to real-life experiences. The class workload is perfect. We have enough work to practice the concepts we learn and not too much and overwhelming.
I really like everything about the class. I like how class has been split to where we talk about things we have done from the previous class, homework, etc. And then the 2nd portion we do sort of a walkthrough of aspects to incorporate in the next homework assignment.
His teaching style was pretty in-depth, and certainly was able to apply real world information to theories and actually apply topics to real-world situations. I enjoyed his enthusiasm, and especially those "what-not-to-do" scenarios. Compared to other classes this was the most real-world class that can be applied right out of school and into the workforce.
Inspiring!
The instructors are great! They are very engaging and share real-world knowledge. It is a great course to take to prepare for the transition from academia to a career.
David - Great speaker and has many insights. Keep class interesting.
Michael - Great presenter and is very patient with students and their technical difficulties.
Best Teachers, Both of them. I really like the teaching style, they focus more on practical rather than theory.
I love this class!
Nice course structure.
Professor has amazing Alteryx skills.
Professors help solve practical issues . . . and very easy-going.
Teachers are clear and concise.
These professors have hard skill!
David and Michael help the students a lot!
Highly motivated, patient, and willing to help students out when they are confused…and easily accessible and engaging. Knowledgeable!
Kind personalities and clear teaching skills.
Michael is not only very technical but he also has a knack for teaching technical processes. He’s also very patient with students who ask him to show the same thing again and again.
Michael is very analytical and quantitative. I hope I can become a good analyst too.
Obviously very knowledgeable about the subject, and very clear when lecturing.
Patience and helpful!
Really smart, very good at what he does and open to answer everyone’s questions.
Very smart, good at explaining things, very helpful!
Very handsome and good at teaching.
Both Michael and David are quite knowledgeable. They should continue to teach the course!
Mind-blowing!
Applies real-world business knowledge into class.
Both have in-depth knowledge on the subject matter and are excited to pass this knowledge on to students.
Bringing in expertise and real-world experience to classroom concepts. Accurately walking through complicated software techniques and teaching the class tips and tricks of the trade.
Professors give clear instructions.
Great technical knowledge on Alteryx.
One of the best professors at UCI.
Great work experience. Also, his work with using Alteryx is just awesome. He is a genius.
He is good with concepts and puts efforts to make sure we understand the topics.
He is very knowledgable about the subject. He is also very nice when students need help. Good professor overall.
Knowledgeable and professional.
Knowledge of his topic; knows predictive analytics, Alteryx, Tableau extremely well.
Lecture well prepared, professional experience, quick responses to questions.
I like the way he goes through workflows step by step, very clear!
Michael is an analytics rockstar. He understands the tools we are using like a pro and is an analytics guru eager to talk about methods for improving models, implementing advanced analytics, etc.
Professor Ponton is very experienced on the tools he teaches; such as Alteryx and Tableau. He explains the concepts of the Alteryx tools very clearly and makes sure that students follow him easily. He responds well to questions and explains concepts patiently.
Smart, passionate, helpful!
Strong analytical and technical skills, always ready to answer questions via email and help students improve. Great attitude!
The instructor is very patient in explaining questions.
Professors are very clear in explaining the concepts and lecture materials.
Professors are very friendly, very helpful, and very detailed.
Very informative!
Very knowledgeable about the subject.
He should teach more often!
Overall great!
Great teacher!
I really enjoyed this course and the different perspectives brought by the professors.
This class has been really practical and helpful.
Overall, it was a great class to learn new analytics skill
Awesome technical coverage of Alteryx and Excel skills.
Extremely good at the technical skills and sharing knowledge with the class
Gives real life examples - loved seeing work that you’ve done at Competitive Analytics), very hands-on and patient instructors!
Great job of breaking down Alteryx and Tableau
Great teaching!
Handsome, professional, and always take responsibility.
He knows a lot about Alteryx, something I knew nothing about before, and he was able to communicate well.
He presents things very clearly, and knows a lot about the subject in which he is teaching.
Instructor is experienced on Alteryx tool and provided examples and assignments to enhance learning.
Professors know many things, patient, and provide answers in details. Really helped me a lot to understand all the material.
Michael does a good job covering the more technical and applicable aspects of this course. I really enjoyed learning in Tableau & Alteryx.
Michael is handsome!!!
Really great job at teaching us the different features Alteryx has to offer. Pace at which he taught was also good because it allowed us to grasp the use of each tool being used, as well as stopping and answering any questions.
Professor illustrated Alteryx workflows and explained each step by step clearly.
The professor is really skillful in Tableau and Alteryx. He walks through how we can utilize the program step by step.
Thorough teaching with step by step presentation of Tableau and Alteryx.
Very cool dude!
Very good with Alteryx. Takes time to show and explain things!
Very Very smart and experienced!
Love Michael!
Fantastic course, great instructors and material.
Good course to learn Alteryx.
Great!
Great course!
I learned a lot. Alteryx is a very cool tool!
I loved the mix of the arts and technical. Awesome course.
It’s an impressing course.
Great presentations and real world examples. We learn not only the art and science of forecasting but also the business of forecasting.
Very honest about the reality of predictions in industry.
Great teachers. Fun class, very engaging, but too much homework!
Great lectures. Have learnt a lot!
Like the forecasting concept and mindset that the professor share in the class.
Both instructors are doing a great job teaching!
Great insights and clear presentations.
Great course and professors!
Love this class!
David shows his enthusiasm for forecasting, which raises my interest in the subject too.
Enthusiasm. Profound thinking.
Funny and energetic
Good speaker, Very engaging.
Highly motivated. Patient and willing to take the time to explain concepts. Engaging. Assigns meaningful work. Easily accessible.
Motivated and convincing about both sides of the brain involved in Data Analytics.
Passionate!
The instructor brings in a lot of industry insights and data which shows us the practical side of analytics. The professor is also very enthusiastic.
The instructor introduces many useful readings to us.
Very enthusiastic, clear, passionate, and knowledgeable about the subject.
Give ideas at high level.
Passionate. Teaches us how to think!
Very clear and make class very interesting.
Very enthusiastic and impressive!
Great course. Highly recommended.
It is definitely a great course and should continue to be offered at UCI. Learn a lot!
Clear instructions and passionate in teaching.
Cares about the future of students and prepares them for real-world scenarios.
Good knowledge on business and presentation skills.
Good presentations and lots of personal experience. Approachable and great to have discussions with!
Great presentations!
He is good at speaking and engaging the audience and brings us out of our comfort zone.
He's knowledgeable of the analytics space and is well-versed in Alteryx and Tableau.
Knows how to present his ideas!
Makes students think out of the box, highly creative!
Professor Savlowitz is a great presenter, he keeps students' interest in the way he talks. He encourages students to think out of the box.
Really know how to raise students' interests and passions during the class.
Teaches us to think!
The professor is very enthusiastic and passionate about data and analytics. Great data story telling skills, and I can tell he is trying to teach us more than just analytics, he’s trying to teach us how things look like in their company.
Very creative and caring. You can tell that he wants to share what he's learned.
Very good class interactions and sharing information about business concepts and personal experiences.
Very passionate about the subject matter and genuinely seems to care about the students being successful in the field post graduation.
Good at talking and presentation; very enthusiastic!
He is really patient when explaining technical part of the course.
Knowledgeable!
The prof inspired our creativity a lot and the course is demanding.
Fantastic course. Really creative, effective and relevant.
Overall great class!
A lot of real world experience and insights.
Connecting industry analytics practices into class content.
Expert knowledge in forecasting and Alteryx. Knows real world scenarios and teaches those. Use of Tableau and Alteryx are applicable to real world and the professors know these tools well.
Funny, engaging!
Great teaching.
To drive home the point of incorporating art in analytics. And talking about real work experiences.
Very charismatic!
Very charismatic, has interesting stories, and really cares that the students receive what he is teaching.
Very good presenter, sometimes hard to learn from all the info he puts out, but very exciting and pumps up the class
Very passionate and able to get students excited about the subject.
Very strong presentation skills!
Passionate.
Really challenging the students to be more creative and go and above the norm. Giving us helpful tips that we can use to be successful in our careers.
Sharing knowledge of real world forecasting applications.
He has very high expectations of his students, which is not necessarily a bad thing, just something that he might want to be aware of.
I think professors Savlowitz & Ponton do a great job of splitting class into lecture & technical learning. I would not change anything!
Some of the assignments were extremely tough, albeit a good learning experience but spending 10 hours trying to complete one task in Alteryx was tiring.
Great learning experience, tough but no pain no gain. Fantastic course, really learned a lot!
Great Class!
Liked all assignments. Plus assignments were on real life scenarios so that is good.
Lot of fun!
Overall, solid course. I learned a lot.
Really enjoyed this course, the way class sessions were structured allowed for me to stay engaged the entire time!