One Institute, Many Campuses: Expanding a Public-Private Data Science Consortium
This session will take you inside the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMDSI), a first-of-it-kind public-private consortium that is expanding to include three new academic institutions: a medical college, an engineering-focused university, and a technical college with an applied AI lab. Since 2018, the NMDSI has championed AI and data science transformation across southeastern Wisconsin, investing in research, new faculty, student scholarships, academic programs and, since fall 2023, over 100 applied AI and data science student research projects. With this expansion, partners now pool distinctive assets—clinical research and health data expertise, high-performance computing and a supercomputer, and hands-on applied AI and workforce training—to build a more inclusive, practice-centered talent pipeline for the region. Attendees will learn how the consortium structures governance, shared resources, and programming across very different institutions, and how this model can inform similar regional collaborations that align industry needs, academic innovation, and community impact.
Presenters
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Sarah Buszka
Executive Director, Applied AI Lab,
Waukesha County Technical College
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Scott Genung
AVC for IT and CIO,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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Laurie Panella
CIO,
Marquette University
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Rick Thomas
Senior Director of IT,
Milwaukee School of Engineering