Photo by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Publications

Rady School of Management Launches Center for Business Analytics

Urban insights becomes first corporate sponsor

The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego has launched the Center for Business Analytics, which will serve as a platform for research and innovation in big data analysis for private businesses and public agencies. Through the center, Rady School faculty experts will work with corporate partners to identify critical business issues where using big data can provide value and competitive advantage. The center will also coordinate educational initiatives such as courses, programs and workshops for the business community, Rady School students and students from across the UC San Diego campus.

Urban Insights Associates, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cubic Transportation Systems, a business segment of Cubic Corporation, is the center’s first corporate sponsor. Urban Insights is a professional services firm that brings the application of big data tools and data science-based deep analytics techniques to public transportation agencies, road authorities and municipalities. Outcomes help clients improve operations, reduce costs and better serve travelers.

In a joint statement, Rady School’s Professor of Marketing Karsten Hansen and Associate Professor of Marketing On Amir said, “We are privileged to welcome Urban Insights as our first corporate sponsor and partner of the newly launched Rady School Center for Business Analytics. The partnership and generous support Urban Insights is providing to the Rady School’s Center for Business Analytics will enable the advancement of innovative research and increase collaboration with businesses and public agencies. Data analytics is revolutionizing the business world and the Center for Business Analytics will help prepare Rady’s graduate students to become leaders in this sector.”

“It is a great honor to be associated with the new Center for Business Analytics. This furthers our commitment to the corporate citizenship that supports our communities and demonstrates our leadership in this area,” said Matt Cole, acting general manager, Urban Insights, and executive vice president, strategy, business development and diversification for Cubic Transportation Systems. “Universities are performing cutting-edge research that connects us to an international network of scholars and practitioners, and this relationship gives us the access, the products of which we can in turn bring to our customers. The result is a win-win that supports Cubic’s NextCity mission—to continue innovating technology products and services that bring ‘smart’ transportation to cities of the future through our fully integrated, whole of transportation journey and payments management platform.”

For the Rady Center for Business Analytics, the collaboration will provide graduate students access to Urban Insights’ transportation clients to engage them in project work that fulfills course requirements and encourages interest in public transportation as a career direction.

The Rady School’s Center for Business Analytics is actively seeking addition corporate partners who can benefit from the resources and big data expertise that a relationship with the center can provide. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Zachary Smith, Director of Development & External Relations, at 858-822-7586 or zksmith@ucsd.edu.