Jim Novo Award - 2011 Winner

Congratulations to Peter Scheir, 2011 winner of the Jim Novo Award of Academic Excellence!

Peter Scheir Winner of the 2011 Jim Novo Award for Excellence UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics

The University of British Columbia (UBC) Continuing Studies and the Digital Analytics Association (formerly the Web Analytics Association) are pleased to announce that Peter Scheir has been awarded the 2011 Jim Novo Award of Academic Excellence. The award is presented annually to the graduate with the highest grade average over all four courses of the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics. Peter completed the program last year with an astounding 99% grade average in his courses.

Raquel Collins, associate director with UBC Continuing Studies, commends Peter for his excellent academic achievement. "This is definitely a great achievement. Of over 1000 course registrations last year, 108 students graduated (completed all four courses of the Award of Achievement in Web Analytics), and Peter was the top student."

"I was drawn to the program because it was a collaboration of the Digital Analytics Association with the University of British Columbia," recalls Peter, who lives in Austria. "Having already read Avinash Kaushik's book Web Analytics 2.0, I was eager to expand my learning and knowledge beyond the book, and this program looked like a great way to do that."

Before beginning the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics, Peter had not taken a course in a 100% online format. "I really like online courses! Isn't it fantastic that a person from Europe can do a course at a Canadian university that easily? This is especially relevant for highly specialized topics such as web analytics," he explains. "I also enjoy the flexibility that web-based training offers. I can do the courses whenever I want and at any place where I have Internet access."

Currently, Peter works in the Digital unit of the Styria Media Group AG, a media content corporation with headquarters in Graz, Austria. He is engaged in group-wide projects in the areas of information technology and online marketing. He is also involved in the evaluation of the start-ups for investment. "I like to use my knowledge and skills to help my employer to further increase our online performance," comments Peter.

In addition to completing the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics, Peter has also recently completed the Certificate in Web Intelligence (offered jointly through UBC Continuing Studies and University of California, Irvine Extension), as well as Specialized Studies on Business Intelligence & Data Warehousing. Drawing on all of his education and knowledge, Peter recently became a Certified Web Analyst. "At the moment I am the only CWA in my country. Getting certified was another building block for me to learn more about web analytics." He adds with a smile, "I guess my colleagues must really think I know about this stuff!"