Academic Partnerships: Developing the Future Innovators of Tomorrow

EQUIFAX WORKS WITH LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO DEVELOP THE FUTURE INNOVATORS OF TOMORROW. 

Our academic partnership programs include collaborative research and community data labs that have resulted in over 30 completed research projects, five patents and invaluable experience for tomorrow’s data and analytic leaders. 

“Working directly with university professors and their students helps us bring a fresh perspective to business challenges,” said Gail Wetzel, Vice President of Data & Analytics at Equifax. “The teams are exposed to unique data and leading-edge technology that can provide valuable experience as they graduate and enter the workforce.”

As a part of our relationships with several universities, we collaborate on capstone courses, which are  course-long projects students take at the end of their academic program applying their degree knowledge to create a real-life solution.

Recently completed student-led projects include: 

Kennesaw State University 

• Spend Analytics Project - This project, spearheaded by Ph.D. student Sahar Yarmohammadtoosky, for the Equifax Global Sourcing department, developed a procurement virtual assistant that utilizes AI, including large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) techniques. The method ensures an excellent user experience and supports decision-making by business owners in their purchase order processes. Furthermore, the use of these advanced technologies contributes to enhanced data quality for reporting purposes.

Georgia State University at the Robinson College of Business

• Insight Sprints Project - Georgia State University Masters students Sushma Kanuparthy, Sridhar Hallyala, and Uday Kiran Chilakalapalli developed three machine learning models using anonymized Equifax data, designed to help lenders predict creditworthiness, identify delinquency events, and make informed decisions regarding charge-off amounts. 

• Equifax Strategic Management Capstone Case Competition - Robinson recently refreshed its Flexible MBA program and Equifax hosted the pilot capstone case competition in the fall of 2024. Students examined the impact of some “Big Tech” companies moving into the financial services ecosystem and specifically what the implications will be for companies already operating in the financial services industry. “Hosting programs like the capstone pilot with GSU allows Equifax to be a partner in fueling the leaders of tomorrow,” said Antonio Beniamin, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Equifax. “We are committed to supporting educational initiatives like GSU’s Flexible MBA program that can expose students to new industries, build new skills, and provide hands-on experience.”

Georgia Institute of Technology Steven A. Denning Technology & Management Program

• T&M Program Capstone Project - The Georgia Tech Denning Technology & Management Program students Nicole Kachouh, Joseph Mathias, Wesley Hara, and Cindy Wei Zhou utilized anonymized, proprietary Equifax data to enhance the prediction of consumer behavior in their project, titled "Leveraging Attribute Creation to Predict Consumer Behavior."

• The current T&M Program capstone team, composed of Nick Eliacin, Agha Yusuf Khan, Aiden Liu, Julia Neagu, and Riley Woods, is applying artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to forecast forthcoming financial decisions. 

Learn more about how Equifax collaborates with universities and colleges to drive innovation and connect with the next generation of forward-thinkers HERE.