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Student Industry Projects – ISSIP Bridging Industry and Academia

Student Industry Projects – ISSIP Bridging Industry and Academia

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As part of the ISSIP Innovation Research Program, ISSIP is partnering with Center for Business Analytics at Milgard School of Business University of Washington Tacoma for 3rd Annual Pro-bono Analytics Consulting Projects by Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) Students at UW Tacoma. ISSIP has been bridging the gap to the future by co-creating value with industry, academia, government,  and non-profits for many years.

CENTER FOR BUSINESS ANALYTICS (CBA) @ Milgard School of Business, UW Tacoma

If your organization has a challenging problem to solve, or is seeking data-driven insights about your business or organization, the Center for Business Analytics at the Milgard School of Business wants to partner with you. There is no cost to you other than providing a problem to solve or an opportunity to explore (plus reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses).

MSBA Project Proposal Submissions are due on June 10, 2019 and may be completed online here.

How does it work? Your organization provides a Project Proposal for a team of 3-6 students in the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program to solve over the course of 12 months under the direction of UW Tacoma Milgard Faculty Advisors.  The Center for Business Analytics and the MSBA program is led by Professor Haluk Demirkan, Ph.D.  With his nearly 20 years of professional consulting experience, as well as his extensive background in analytics, service innovation and digital transformation, you can be assured that your student consultant team will be guided by a highly experienced mentor.

Why partner with us? Admission into the MSBA program is highly competitive.  Our MSBA students are uniquely qualified to bring creativity, data-driven insights and applied innovative approaches to deliver tangible business outcomes for your organization.  As they gain deep technical expertise in the use of analytics, big data and smart machines over the course of the program, they will apply their learning towards solving your problem or opportunity.

Who have we worked with in past projects? Our MSBA students have applied their skillsets in data analysis, strategic thinking and project management for the following organizations…Boeing, CHI Franciscan Health, Costco, City of Tacoma, Columbia Bank, DataCentral US Corp., Delta Airlines, EDB of Tacoma, Harbor Whole Sale Foods, Metro Parks of Tacoma, Microsoft, SSMCP, Stellar Industrial Supply, Turnover Intelligence and more.

What are some examples of problems or opportunities that our student teams can work on for you?

  • Marketing / Sales
    • What do consumers want to buy and how much are they willing to pay?
    • Where and when do consumers want to make a purchase?
    • How to keep consumers loyal?
      How to create a virtual marketplace?
    • How to recover and sustain market growth?
  • Supply Chain & Logistics
    • How to anticipate and prevent future inventory problems?
    • How to design more responsive supply chain networks?
  • Human Resources
    • How to retain top talent in an organization?
    • How to determine the bottom line impact of staffing decisions?
    • How does salary relate to personnel performance?
    • How to determine the economic impact of a region-specific workforce?
  • Finance
    • How to measure financial performance and assess the value of intangible capabilities?
    • How to create a balanced portfolio of metrics as a strategic management system?
  • Engineering / Operations
    • How to maximize yields?
    • How to predict equipment malfunctions before they occur?
    • How to optimize and grow a robotics capability?
  • Healthcare
    • How to optimize utilization of surgical operation resources?
  • Utility Services
    • How to predict when and how customers will use the service?
  • Insurance
    • How to profitably insure customers in high-risk categories?
    • How to detect fraudulent behavior?
    • How to optimize rate structures?

What do we need from our partners? Your organization needs to provide an Executive Sponsor for your project as well as an individual who is readily accessible to our students to ensure access to the people and internal information necessary to complete your project.  Interactions with our students generally occur on a weekly basis over the duration of the project.

What do you receive in return? At the end of the project in early June 2020, your student consulting team will deliver a final presentation to senior management in your organization with results and strategic recommendations.

Our MSBA student consultants will be dedicating approximately 6 hours per week (per student) on your problem.  Projects typically include data collection, analysis, prototype demonstrations, digital transformation plans and strategic recommendations.

What about confidentiality? You can be assured that your company-specific data, insights and recommendations will remain confidential.  We will sign an NDA with your organization to protect your confidential information.

After receiving your pre-approval, students will share your project at an Applied Project Showcase at the end of the project.  The Showcase will only highlight the methodologies, tools and techniques used during your project.  Here’s a link to see the presentations shared at our Showcase last year.

Who can I speak with to learn more before I submit a proposal?

Please contact Michael Helser, Ph.D. – Manager of Operations and Programs OR Haluk Demirkan, P.h.D., Director of CBA & MSBA at Milgard Center for Business Analytics to learn more. You can also learn more about MSBA Applied Project Proposals at our CBA Website.

Project Proposals are due no later than Monday June 10th, 2019.

Best regards

Haluk Demirkan