Texas A&M, Humana Announce 2019 Healthcare Analytics Case Competition

Mays Business School at Texas A&M University and health and well-being company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) are launching the 2019 Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition to showcase students’ analytical abilities to solve a real-world business problem. The prize package for the winning teams has increased to $52,500, with $30,000 for first place, $15,000 for second place, and $7,500 for third place.

The third annual competition is open to all accredited educational institutions based in the United States. Full-time and part-time master’s students from accredited Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Information Systems, Master of Public Health, or Master of Business Administration programs, or other similar master’s programs in business, healthcare, or analytics, are eligible to enter. Students are invited to create teams of two to three to tackle a real-world case. Each team can only include students from the same school.

“We’re proud to again host one of the top national competitions known for attracting the brightest graduate students in the country,” said Eli Jones, dean of Mays Business School. “The teams use data analytics to address challenging real-world issues in healthcare.”

“Once again, it’s great to partner with Texas A&M, my alma mater, as it played a pivotal role in my career development,” said Bruce Broussard, President & CEO, Humana Inc. “The use of analytics in healthcare is becoming increasingly more important in driving better patient outcomes and reducing the cost of care. Giving students the opportunity to engage in real-life scenarios through this competition is a meaningful way to challenge and shape them as professionals.”

The teams will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Quantitative analysis identifying key business insights
• Professionalism, data visualization, and presentation skills
• Ability to provide unique insights for business improvements
• Ability to establish key performance indicators aligned to business needs

Key dates for 2019 participants include:

• Sept. 11: Virtual kickoff for prospective participants
• Sept. 13: Team registration due
• Sept. 19: Q&A session with competition leadership
• Oct. 15: Completed team analysis due
• Oct. 28: Finalists selected and notified
• Nov. 14: Final presentations to executive panel at Mays Business School’s CityCentre Houston campus; winners announced

The student team of Edward Cho, Lianne Ho and David Sung from the University of Southern California won the $20,000 First Place prize in 2018. Nearly 700 masters level students representing 246 teams from 42 major universities in the U.S. registered to compete for $35,000 in prizes.

More than 300 master’s degree candidates representing 109 teams from 19 major universities in the U.S. registered for the 2017 competition. Students Hongxia Shi, Shenyang Yang, and Xiangyi Che from Purdue University earned the top prize.