University of Detroit Mercy Hosts Seminar in Intelligence Analysis
In mid-May at the invitation of the University of Detroit Mercy’s Department of Homeland Security I offered A Seminar in Intelligence Analysis: Better Decisions Faster in an Uncertain World.* Dr. Dan Shoemaker, Professor in the Center for Cyber Security and Intelligence Studies, with strong support from Dr. Mark Denham, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, sponsored the two-day course.
The 15 participants were all graduates of the UDM intelligence studies programs and had gone on to serve in a range of related professions. Almost all were supporting intelligence work as cyber security specialists and one participant was an intelligence analyst supporting maritime port security. From outside the security world one participant was a partner in a major law firm in Detroit and another on her way to law school at Colombia.
Participants found the training unique and directly applicable to their varied work. The law partner, for example, noted that the approach would help the staff, especially new hires, think about how they framed their briefs.
Comments from sponsors and participants were uniformly strong.
Dean Denham,
As the faculty sponsor [Dr. Dan Shoemaker] of this course I want to provide you with my impressions of the students’ response and the quality of the training that Dr. Grusin provided for them this week. Bottom line: the intelligence analysis training was first rate and broke new ground for the university
As I told you, this is a report on the weekend class that you facilitated for us. I believe the final attendance was 16 students. All but three were present or former IA students. The others were either joint IA/MBAs (2) and a particularly bright outsider (Columbia law school) who is related to one of the IA students.
The class ran from 08:30 to 16:00 both days. In what I could observe the interaction was constant with both standup lecture and exercises mixed in. The feedback from the students (first day only – have not talked to any of them since) was off the charts positive. They felt like they were being plugged directly into an important area of study/work at the very top and they felt that the information provided was beyond anything they could have gotten in this area.
The instructor was extremely engaging. The energy level was high throughout. There was laughter and positive verbal feedback coming from the room as I listened in. The information was in a large binder with accompanying slides and it was extensive.
I want to thank you and Dr. Grusin for providing an experience that would be difficult to duplicate outside of the beltway environment. As you are aware, part of UDM’s mission is to offer opportunity to people who might be otherwise unable to have it and this weekend was a perfect example of how we as a College successfully meet those goals.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further please ask.
v/r
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Jay,
Thanks so much for providing a two-day experience for our students. Dan reports on a very engaged and appreciative audience, and I want to add my appreciation to theirs. Your willingness to give two days (plus countless hours of preparation) has contributed in important ways to what our students can offer.
It was good meeting you on Friday. I hope to see you again.
Mark E. Denham, PhD
Dean College of Liberal Arts
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Hi Dr Dan [Shoemaker]
Hope today finds you and yours happy and well. This email is to express gratitude for your constant efforts to find ways to position UDM IA students ahead of the rest, and always raising the bar. The Seminar you pulled together for us just broke that bar !! Never, by any stretch of my imagination, would I have ever thought that I would be given this huge opportunity to learn such an additional added value skill (and I can Imaging plenty). I just wanted to let you know that from that brief, but intense, exposure, I now see implications and inter-dependencies in a new light with more clarity. Jay Grusin is a jewel and his teachings a rare find.
Patricia Sanford
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Dear Jay,
From my LinkedIn profile:
“Jay has a wealth of knowledge about tradecraft techniques, analytics, and the intelligence community. I recently took a Tradecraft seminar where Jay was the instructor. I was pleasantly surprised at how applicable the concepts were to my current professional life. I learned some valuable lessons and I enjoyed the exercises and interaction with my fellow classmates. Jay is approachable, collaborative, and very open about sharing his expertise with his students. I would highly recommend his class to anyone who wants to learn more about analytics and intelligence.”
Irene Sanford
Senior Business Systems Analyst at University of Michigan Health System