When commerce and academia collaborate

x Sponsored content on Research Live and in Impact magazine is editorially independent.
Find out more about advertising and sponsorship.

In the autumn of 2019, I had the pleasure of attending several university open days as my son considered his options, post A level. There is something inspiring about visiting academic institutions. There is always an energy and openness to what might be possible in the world of research. They are at the heart of the learning agenda and developing the ideas that will help to guide the analytic pathways of the future.

As an industry based on data, and looking to improve analytics, it strikes me that there is huge opportunity to work more closely with academia to answer the current questions that we face.

As data analysts, our goal is to give more actionable outcomes against the backdrop of increasing data complexity. Even when we have the appetite to look at new techniques, budget concerns and a lack of time and relevant skills hamper us. The academic community can offer a haven for research and development that few ...