Bloomberg Access
Bloomberg Trading Room Manager Andrew Cohen
The Gregory A. Lumsden Trading Room and Research Lab (LTR), is equipped with 24 Bloomberg Terminals, making it one of the largest labs in the United States. Bloomberg terminals provide a portal to real-time information that Bloomberg along with other news and financial services collect and analyze, displayed in a user-friendly format. The Covid-19 pandemic called for an unprecedented mandatory campus shut down. However, Andrew Cohen, Finance faculty and Lab Manager, acted immediately on behalf of his students and other faculty.
Cohen reached out to Bloomberg, and they were able to create a new software called Bloomberg Remote Access for Strome students and faculty to access the lab remotely and resume their daily functions in a fully virtual environment. Bloomberg Remote Access allowed a personalized experience that kept students and faculty connected and engaged, which ODU professors found extremely useful given the move to all online classes.
"Having remote access to the Bloomberg terminals is a big help to me in instructing IT 150, Information Literacy & Research. The Bloomberg assignment assesses the learning outcome, to search strategically in systems appropriate to information needs. When ODU closed their physical facilities, I wondered what I could design to replace the Bloomberg assignment. Knowing as I do now that students can access the terminals remotely as though they were in the lab is a blessing. I teach two sections of IT 150, a total of 60 students. These students can access the terminals over a two-day period giving them control over their schedule. The assignment has the added benefit of critical thinking. Students need to identify a company to work with that has an obvious supply chain from a list of S &P," said Ann Moriarty, Information Technology & Decision Sciences Professor.
Students appreciated the remote access as well. "Having virtual access to remotely use Bloomberg has allowed us to use the features described in the BMC videos and follow along directly, but has also enabled us to branch off and explore the terminal more than we ever could before. Beforehand I would need to realistically have a two-hour time slot to go to the terminal on campus which was difficult. Thus, outside of class following the BMC videos to learn which functions were used, I would have to write them down to explore at a later date. Having said that, it is truly invaluable for learning to have remote access to the Bloomberg Terminal especially during this time quarantined," said ODU student Patrick Fitzsimmons.
ODU Professors and students see the potential of integrating remote Bloomberg Terminal into our daily work lives and giving students an opportunity to further their careers. Andrew Cohen, Finance Lecturer at ODU and Lab Manager, has been working with Bloomberg for Education to find solutions to bring remote Bloomberg access to all students.
"Bloomberg programmers have found a way to accommodate us. We are now being used as a pilot University. I'm thrilled we were able to do this as this has been a huge value added for our students," said Andrew Cohen.
Universities all over the world have embraced the use of remote Bloomberg access into a variety of different courses. Bringing remote Bloomberg access to ODU students and faculty has allowed them to experience the cutting edge of innovation, quick access to essential news, data, and trading tools, all while encouraging students to turn their knowledge into action, even in the disruption from Covid-19.
Story by Danielle Gilliam
