INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 16, 2020) – BioCrossroads today released a new report from TEConomy Partners titled Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics in Indiana:  An Initial Discussion of Industry Needs and University Capabilities. TEConomy conducted a series of interviews with major employers in Indiana along with leadership at Indiana University (IU), Purdue University (Purdue) and the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame) to generate their findings, perspectives and recommendations.  The study finds that technological change is affecting our economy at an unprecedented pace and is driving significant investments by Indiana’s industry partners and research universities to ensure that they stay ahead of the curve.  However, there is limited coordination between industry and academia leaving missed opportunities to leverage investment, recruit and retain talent, and drive economic growth for the state.

“Given the speed of change in the advanced analytics space, we wanted to understand the impact analytics are having on the state and how we can establish Indiana as a place where talent can be engaged in interesting and meaningful ways,” said Patty Martin, president and CEO of BioCrossroads. “In order to drive more data analytics investments into Indiana, we must take a more intentional approach to promote engagement between and among our industry and research universities. This report provides not only an overview of what’s happening, but also includes recommendations to support and catalyze new ways in which our universities and corporations can work together.”

Companies around the world are dealing with the effects of this quickly changing landscape; likewise, Indiana companies are focused on evolving their businesses to build their infrastructure and talent capabilities.  The report highlights the need for a diverse and large talent pool to implement the broad and highly company-specific spectrum of needs within the space of advanced analytics and AI technologies.  There is a high demand for talent throughout the country. Companies are competing not only to attract new graduates and highly trained professionals from outside the state, but also to retain experienced talent and students who have been educated at the nationally recognized programs at Indiana University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and other Indiana universities.

The report has detailed information about each of the three major Indiana research universities and their capabilities, investments and programs related to advanced analytics. Each has made significant investments to grow foundational data sciences and applied analytics capabilities that support talent pipelines and the development of applied analytical skills. Three key areas include:

  • Interdisciplinary institutes and programs in advanced data sciences;
  • Business analytics programs with significant graduate volume and major corporate partners; and
  • Data sciences training and immersion programs that expose students to real-world data science problems and workflows.

Several additional bold actions and significant investments in capabilities by each of the research universities have occurred since the completion of the report findings in late 2019, resulting in more than $125 million in investments.  These include:

  • IU received $60 million in October from IU alumnus and information technology pioneer, Fred Luddy to establish the Luddy Center for Artificial Intelligence, a multidisciplinary initiative in artificial intelligence based in the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering with an initial focus on AI approaches to digital health.
  • Notre Dame received a $25M gift in December from alumnus Robert Lumpkins and his wife, Sara, a Saint Mary’s College graduate, to establish the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, an interdisciplinary, university-wide hub that will connect faculty, students, and research across existing data science and analytics programs on campus while serving as a catalyst for future programmatic needs.
  • In December, Purdue announced it will build a new $40M facility dedicated to Data Science, designed to help the university to meet its goal to be a national and global leader in the field of data science research and education for all students.  The flagship four-story building will be 86,000 square feet, featuring classroom and teaching space alongside collaborative workspace for College of Sciences graduate researchers and faculty.

BioCrossroads will host a FrameWorx session on Feb. 18, 2020 to discuss advanced analytics and the research universities’ capabilities, how they are impacting research, curriculum and how we attract, grow, and retain talent. Register here.

The report is available on the BioCrossroads website.

About BioCrossroads

BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) is Indiana’s initiative to grow, advance and invest in the life sciences, a public-private collaboration that supports the region’s existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development.  BioCrossroads invests capital and provides support to life sciences businesses, launches new life sciences enterprises (Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, 16 Tech, Indiana Health Information Exchange, Fairbanks Institute for Healthy Communities, BioCrossroadsLINX, OrthoWorx and Datalys Center), expands collaboration and partnerships among Indiana’s life science institutions, promotes science education and markets Indiana’s life sciences industry.