Students in the Business Intelligence Group (BIG) have worked on projects related to supply chain management, digital health, biotechnology, and higher education for companies located at the University of Illinois Research Park and overseas in East Asia and Africa.
Business Intelligence Group
The iSchool is home to the Business Intelligence Group (BIG), a fast-paced, real-world learning opportunity for students working in interdisciplinary teams to solve information and technology problems for international, national, and regional clients. Led by Associate Professor Yoo-Seong Song, who brings extensive experience as a consultant and an entrepreneur, this program offers a unique learning opportunity for students. Student consultants at BIG acquire and practice problem-solving skills critical to the success of today’s organizations. BIG's clients include multinational corporations, nonprofit organizations, and technology start-ups.
Consulting projects
| Studying the impact of blockchain technology on the agribusiness and food supply chain |
| Creating a dashboard for global sales management for a manufacturing company |
| Building a business model and assessing market opportunities for a mobile healthcare device manufacturer |
| Identifying talent gaps for data scientists |
| Developing an investment proposal for a genomic testing start-up |
| Creating a knowledge management roadmap for an international university consortium |
| Developing a growth plan using data analytics for a sports management start-up |
"We were extremely impressed with the talent and professionalism of the student consultants. As data analytic skills are in high demand, working with the Business Intelligence Group helped us to create an operational dashboard using Tableau that takes in distinct sales-related datasets and identify outliers/anomalies and business trends. The student consultants were able to add in their creativity and worked alongside us to create the appropriate visualizations. We put the output from the project into production, which delivered immediate value and served as a great proof of concept for larger-scale projects internally." — AGCO
How BIG works
Students are assigned to different teams and engage with selected clients from industry and community organizations. Projects range from drafting engagement letters to delivering final presentations. A typical student team consists of one project manager and consultants. The faculty advisor may assign a senior consultant if necessary. The team will have either weekly or biweekly calls with the client throughout the engagement.
Areas of expertise
- Data analytics
- Entrepreneurship based on data analytics
- Knowledge management
- Competitive intelligence
- Data curation and management
- Information security
- Business and technology research
Outcomes
Clients receive:
- Solutions to complex problems via BIG's expertise as well as access to experts on campus
- Deep understanding of students' talents and innovative approaches
- Creative recommendations from student teams with diverse subject backgrounds and work experiences
Students learn to:
- Approach complex problems using proven methods of strategy and management consulting
- Produce professional deliverables that have true impact on the clients' businesses
Project lifecycle
Clients typically connect with Associate Professor Song six to eight weeks in advance of the semester with a list of projects. Once the semester begins, the life cycle runs eight to twelve weeks.
| Weeks 1-2: Project team is assigned |
| Weeks 3-6: Project launches with NDA and initial |
| Weeks 6-9: Focused research with biweekly client |
| Week 10: Project midpoint and client confirmation of direction |
| Weeks 10-12: Final presentation to client |
BIG has been very impressive in the amount of creativity to think outside of the box with the latest technology (e.g., the metaverse) to solve current problems in healthcare. Problem-solving is a key skill set that the BIG students are not only learning with real-world projects but also working towards advanced problem-solving with subject matter experts across various industries.
Ferdinand Belga, CEO of Ascertain Biosciences
Have a research project suitable for a semester-long collaboration? Contact me for information on how to work with the Business Intelligence Group.
Yoo-Seong Song,
Associate Professor & BIG Leader