This is an introductory course designed for business or accountancy undergraduate students who have no programming background and are interested to learn how to manage data and conduct business analytics programmatically. It is oriented to enhance their technical skillset. The aim of this course is to provide a broad understanding on how to manage data, the process of preparing data for analysis, basics of analytics, and the means to communicate analytics outcome. This course will equip students with the ability to write customized solutions to inform business decision, integrate statistical libraries for data analysis, and construct visuals or reports for business understanding. This module will provide students with individual hands-on practices to hone their coding skills and opportunities to develop coding solutions in a team. We utilize Python language as the medium of learning because it is one of the most in-demand coding language and its user-friendly syntax is well suited for the beginner level. Students will utilise modern development tools to turn information into insights.
Prof: Dr Nguwi Yok Yen
Course taken in: ACC Year 1 Sem 2
Textbook: NA
Required: Download Anaconda Navigator, Spyder, SQLiteStudio on laptop
Assessments: Class participation + 2 in-person quizzes + 1 group project
This mod was pretty fun, ngl. Although, the group project could be a pain sometimes. Personally, I enjoyed learning coding as it was relatively easy to pick up, with one of the first things I learnt being print(“Hello”). Compared to other mods, this mod has a rather gentle learning curve. The topics introduced will begin from the basics up till slightly more advanced coding. But even so, I don’t think the stuff learnt towards the end will be very complicated. I felt that the very first lecture on data types, structure of codes etc was quite daunting as I was suddenly introduced to many new words which made little sense to me. However, over the course of the semester, I was able to become more well-versed with the codes and I’m sure you will too.
For my semester, Dr Nguwi Yok Yen was the course coordinator and I was also in one of her seminar classes. In my opinion, her lectures (some lecture videos can afford to be put at 2x speed) and in-person classes are worth watching and attending as she carefully explains and demonstrates the way the codes work. She is also a really really nice person. She welcomes questions and will be able to nip your problem in the bud, leaving you wondering how she was able to solve the issue so quickly. With regard to the group project, she will clarify your queries honestly and not beat around the bush. She will also provide recommendations and give suggestions on how to improve. I would say: don’t be afraid to ask Dr Nguwi Yok Yen any questions because she will give tips that you would not have thought of which benefits you and your team. You may come to find that this is unlike some other mods, whose profs purposefully answer your questions indirectly (which becomes frustrating at times) in order to prevent any student from getting the upper hand.
Moving on to class participation, I would say that the system worked a bit differently. Compared to other classes where everyone seems to be competing to answer questions, my classes were pretty chill. I attribute this to the fact that Dr Nguwi Yok Yen did not actively encourage the aggressive nature of class participation seen for so many other modules. And for that, I am thankful. Instead, we used platforms such as the NTULearn Discussion Board and Wooclap to participate in classes. At the end of every lesson, we would all participate in a short quiz on Wooclap to make sure we understood the topic. Through this, I was able to test my learning and understand my weak points. I heard that other classes does the mini quiz at the end of each class too. However, I feel that Dr Nguwi Yok Yen’s classes may be a bit fast-paced at times, as I recall how fast I had to type to copy down her codes and keep up with her. Many of us liked to snap photos of nearby TV screens to review the content for later. So, just be prepared for rapid-fire typing sometimes for this course.
The quizzes for this mod is quite daunting at first. However, there will be 1 mock test released for each quiz and questions are similar to the actual quiz, so definitely try out the mock quizzes. I remember the mock quiz I took for the first quiz and I bombed it, got around 8/20 and made me panic hard lmao. But I think the key is to find the right resources to practise as your prof might simply tell you to refer to the recommended readings and try out their questions. The hidden gem would be going online to find practices. I would say that for my 2 quizzes, the 1st was on concepts (e.g., Can float numbers be used in the range() function?) while the 2nd was on application (e.g., create a dataframe from separate dictionaries), so it is also important to practise for the right things. Some of the websites with very good resources are W3Schools, Pynative, and many more. With enough practice, I believe it’ll be okay.
Lastly, the group project. This is something that your group should start working on during or after recess week. If I recall, students would have been taught all that is required to begin their projects by that time. The project is a rather heavy component of the grade and there is also a lot to work on, so starting early would be a wise choice. If there is a component of the project that has to do with creating a program (and not analysing one), I heard that it might be better to delegate that to 1 person because if separate teammates do it, then more work has to be done to make sure the codes tally with one another e.g., the name of a function (to execute a code) has to be the same for all teammates. And also, a final tip: assign a leader (a legit good one) who will help the team to progress together and maintain good communication. This is because if there are separate components to the project, then the leader can help to ensure that everyone knows what to do and both parts can be completed on time. If not, sometimes even if 1 component is completed, the other component may be dragged until the last minute.
Pretty much a self-study module.
Profs are usually adjunct and it might be hard to find one that is good at teaching.
To do well, you have to find a good group with at least one person who is a good coder since the group project is very heavy.
The quizzes may feel unfair since the questions are from a question bank, you might get “harder” questions depending on your luck.
Took this mod in AY20/21 Sem 1. My prof was Koh Choon Chye. He’s a pretty good prof who is very patient, goes through the workshop solutions slowly, and will keep repeating the coding concepts until we get it. He normally gives his own solutions which are actually better than the official solutions uploaded on the blackboard as his solutions can tackle problems better and tend to be more efficient. He is also very nice and approachable and will help you out in your projects. The only problem is that he does not really go beyond the scope unlike Prof Chin Chee Kai. He also does not have much practices before tests so do ask your friends from other classes such as those in Chin Chee Kai’s class.
Honestly, this mod was the most interesting and fun out of all the other mods in year 1. This was my first experience with coding just like most business students. Initially, everyone will struggle with this mod, but trust me it’ll get so much better if you put in the effort to do every workshop and actually have fun playing around with the codes. But of course, this mod is not for everyone because there were many who thought it was too difficult. Still, it is definitely a good skill to have and is a good exposure if you have interest specialising in BA.
Assessments wise, the first quiz is MCQ-based and only tests on syntax. This is quite hard cause it requires quite a bit of memorising of how the codes will turn out to look like which honestly is a bad way of testing coding skills. Most people do badly on this portion. The second quiz tests your actual coding ability which is done on both Spyder and Jupyter. This is much easier but of course as usual many people struggle. So, grades-wise do not worry to much about having to dabao because most the bell-curve is very gentle and will definitely be in your favour. For both quizzes, I received the highest band.
For the group project, it really depends on your project mates. If you get groupmates bad at coding, you will just have to tank most parts. How the project is assessed really depends on your profs. Some profs care more about creativity and the actual codes while others care more about the functionality and idea as they know we are not professional coders. Start during recess week so that you have ample time to complete the project and do well for it.
In summary, all you need to do well is just to make sure that you go to every class and complete all workshops and practices. You don’t really need to go beyond the material being taught but of course that would be better. My final grade is an A so as long as you put in effort like me, you can definitely do well!
very interesting mod, giving us a first-hand experience with coding. we got to learn python and some sql which are useful tech skills. the first test was harder than the 2nd test but still manageable. have fun with this mod!
I enjoyed this mod quite a lot as I am better at technical stuff. I coped well before PA1. However, afterwards, things got pretty complicated. However, with my class part marks, decent PA1 marks and decent team mates (VERY IMPT), the journey was quite smooth sailing. My probably bad PA2 marks did not weigh me down too much. My prof was also really nice: Prof Yeo Wee Kiang
Prof. Chan Wai Xin
AY 20/21
TBH its an okay mod, just need to study and get the technicals right. Overall course coord is p trash, better off watching youtube videos. They dont give feedback so dont expect to learn much. They will tell you, the quizzes serve as an “assessment”, like whats the point of learning if you dont give constructive feedback? Also, Prof. Chan is a snake, project wise is 40% and if he doesnt appreciate your effort, good luck.
Prof Koh, first batch of students that had to take this as a compulsory mod
Basically I kind of hated python…. so this mod was kind of difficult for me. I felt like I understood what was taught but when it comes to tests, it is just so much more than basic knowledge taught. You have to understand rather than just memorise how its done to score, I believe.
TEAM is super important because the project can make or break your grades so best to have mates that maybe have basic knowledge
If you have had experience with Python & SQL (e.g. CITREP+ after JC/Poly/NS, or ACS/BA/RA specialisations), the module content should be a cakewalk. Study up for the assessments, since the weightage is high. Prepare a good cheatsheet; failing that, download the cheatsheets from DataCamp (https://www.datacamp.com/community/data-science-cheatsheets).
The gripe I have with this module is really about the projects, which are a massive timesuck. A bit unreasonable for a 3 AU module, but NTU curriculum design is weird.
Best advice I received/can offer: Start early, earlier than you think is necessary. Sit down to code, whether you like it or not – you won’t get into a good flow otherwise.
Lecturer was Huang Bin, a part-timer. Teaching was good for the most part; class participation isn’t an issue if you show up.
Grade: A+ (don’t ask me how, idk either)
This module was a general nightmare for me, even though my prof (Yeo Wee Kiang) was honestly a very dedicated and knowledgeable prof. As per the other reviews, the group is really really important. Get someone that at least knows what theyre doing. Consult with your prof too to get a rough idea of how your project is faring, because it was through this way we realise there were many projects wayy better than ours. The prof could also help with some hints towards your problems!
The quizzes themselves… I would simply recommend to keep practicing. I got through the first quiz this way and was quite satisfied. But the second quiz, oh gosh. Best is if you can find someone who can tell you roughly the types of questions asked, if not you’d be in for a rude shock like me. I am not sure how I scraped through this module, so good luck!
W mod
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