From graphical analysis to data-driven decisions: Master’s students of the Digital Economy program listened to an international guest lecture on data visualization in R

On May 15, 2026, as part of the study of the educational component “Measurement and Evaluation Tools for Socio-Economic Processes”, the masters of the educational program “Digital Economy” of the Faculty of Finance and Business Management of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv listened to a guest lecture on the topic “Unlocking visual insights: exploring data with R’s graphical analysis”.

The lecture was given by Maryna NEGREI – PhD, Associated Professor, Senior Scientist at Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland), Associated member of Agriculture Economics and Policy Group ETH Zurich, Fellow at Davis Center Harvard University, Associate Professor of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.

The event was held under the leadership of Professor Iryna SHEVCHUK as part of the systematic work of the Department of Digital Economics and Business Analytics on the internationalization of the educational process, strengthening the practical component of training and integrating modern analytical tools into the training of digital economy specialists.

During the lecture, the students were introduced to the capabilities of the R environment for graphical analysis and data visualization, modern approaches to building analytical graphs, principles of data interpretation, and the use of visual analytics in the process of making management decisions. Particular attention was paid to the practical application of ggplot2 packages, tools for identifying trends and anomalies in data, as well as integrating analytics results into business reports, presentations, and data-based management practices.

During the discussion part, the master’s students actively participated in the discussion of current trends in the development of visual analytics, the possibilities of using interactive dashboard solutions, combining graphical analysis with statistical methods, and the role of R in the modern ecosystem of data analysis tools along with Python, Power BI, and Tableau. Questions about typical errors when building graphs, the peculiarities of interpreting analysis results, and practical cases of using data visualization in business and scientific research aroused considerable interest.

Participation in such a lecture contributed to the development of professional competencies in the field of statistical analysis, data management, the use of business analytics tools and digital technologies to support management decisions. Students improved their skills in working in the R environment, critical data analysis, visual communication of research results, and gained a practical understanding of modern approaches focused on the use of data, which is an important component of training competitive specialists in the digital economy.

Conducting such events is in line with the principles of student-centered learning, practice-oriented and academic integration of international experience into the educational process, and also contributes to the formation of an environment of active professional communication between applicants, teachers and the international academic community.

We sincerely thank Marina NEGREI for the meaningful lecture, openness to professional dialogue, practical recommendations and valuable international experience that she shared with applicants of the Digital Economy educational program.