‘Happy ‘End Of Summer’, Canadian SAS Community!
Normally I’d give my head a shake after uttering such sacrilegious words, especially in the Great White North where, for many of us, summer seems to be a mere blip in the year. However, as we all know, these are not normal times. If you’re like me, the past few months have simply whizzed by. For this year, at least, my own traditional activities such as spending time at my family’s cottage, picnicking on the Toronto Islands, and enjoying (or, not enjoying) a variety of strange and decidedly unhealthy foods at the Canadian National Exhibition have not happened.
Rather than bemoan the strangeness of the summer of 2020, I’d prefer to focus on positive things if I can. As a sports fan, there’s lots to take in – as of this writing, our friends in Vancouver must be pretty pumped up as their team is still playing NHL playoff hockey, and who would have thought we would see ANY hockey on September 1st? Basketball fans across the country are hoping the Raptors can repeat their magic from last year, and soccer seasons are ongoing with Canadian teams facing off against each other. For those of who appreciate the deeper side of sports – the analytics that make things tick, the numbers and statistics that inform business decisions – I encourage you to take in a two-part demo focusing on these topics and more through the lens of data visualization. The demo takes place on September 23rd, and you may register here.
Beyond sports, September always has a way of filling my sails with optimism and excitement. Call it a throwback to my scholastic days, I suppose – the promise of a new school year ahead, new learning opportunities, new connections to be made, and the hope of things yet to come. I find I’m at my most energized as we say goodbye to summer and hello to fall. SAS is really leaning into the feeling of excitement and possibility by showcasing SAS programming during SAS Programmer Week, taking place between September 7th and 11th. This entirely virtual, entirely free initiative offers learning opportunities for new users, seasoned SAS professionals and even non-SAS users over the course of four days. To see the agenda at a glance, and to register, please visit here.
Continuing the theme of learning and education, you’ll find a number of Ask The Expert webinars listed below – I hope you’ll take in some that resonate for you. My team in the USA is responsible for putting these together and a lot of thought and effort has gone in to scheduling and working through the topic areas to focus on delivering value to you, the SAS user. You’ll also find information on Cortex, the SAS simulation which is being adapted and used across Canada and the world for training and model development purposes. Want to feel like you’re back in the classroom? This is a great place to start!
I’ll wrap up this brief note of introduction to offer a word of support and encouragement to all the parents out there who are finding their path through a complex web of back to school regulations. Whether your child is back in a classroom, or, if you’re juggling supervising online instruction with your own work life, I salute you. If I ever feel down and out, I think of the tremendous job you’re all doing in these challenging times and it truly does help push me to rise above and persevere.
That’s all for this edition of the newsletter – I hope you enjoy it!
Best,
Matt Malczewski
Retention Lead, SAS Americas
