In academia, just as in business, one thing is clear: data is everywhere but insights are harder to come by.
That’s where McGill’s DataSphere Lab steps in. Launched in late 2023 at the Desautels Faculty of Management, the Lab was born from a growing demand by private companies and public organizations eager to turn their data into smarter business decisions.
With expert mentors guiding them, students and recent graduates at the DataSphere Lab use advanced data analysis –machine learning and AI techniques – to tackle real-world business challenges.
For one healthcare client, that meant applying a machine learning algorithm to analyze anonymized resumés to better understand the skillsets of job applicants and match them to projects. For a transportation company in Laval, students pored over bus stop and ridership data to recommend optimal routes to pick up more passengers while reducing costs.
“No matter if you’re in retail or manufacturing, healthcare, the public sector, we can work with you. We want to help companies of all stripes and sizes.”
Shoeb Hosain, a founding director of the DataSphere Lab.
“There are a lot of companies that want to take advantage of recent advances in technology, but the market is changing so fast, it’s hard to know how best to make better data-driven decisions using AI in a cost-effective manner,” says Shoeb Hosain, a founding director of the DataSphere Lab.
Hosain co-leads the Lab, established by a collaboration between the Bensadoun School of Retail Management and the Master of Management in Analytics (MMA) program.
Students in the MMA program were already engaging with companies on analytics and machine learning, but due to time restrictions projects stopped at a proof of concept.
“I realized that we were doing companies a bit of a disservice,” says Hosain, who served as the program’s inaugural director. “They wanted to take the project to the next stage, and we knew we had to expand our projects to be outside of the curriculum as well.”
With the Lab operating 24/7, students can delve deeper into data and advanced computing complexities. Companies pay the students for their efforts.
The initiative started with support from Quebec’s Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie, and initially focused on the retail industry. The scope has since expanded to cover a wide range of sectors, including non-profits. Students are hired from across McGill, and even from other Quebec universities.
“No matter if you’re in retail or manufacturing, healthcare, the public sector, we can work with you,” says Hosain.
“We want to help companies of all stripes and sizes to boost the productivity of the Canadian economy.”
The Lab boasts clients that include global footwear company ALDO Group, cosmetics giant L’Oreal and flight simulator tech company CAE Inc. Lab members sign non-disclosure agreements and can only discuss projects in general terms. Students and recent grads make up 80 percent of the team on each project while faculty and experienced professionals, including McGill alumni, provide oversight.
Awash in data, companies look to leverage it
Yash Sethi took part in a DataSphere Lab project with L’Oreal during his MMA degree (He’s scheduled to graduate this month at Fall Convocation). His assignment involved analyzing customer queries over each communication channel to help the company allocate resources accordingly.
“I used some advanced machine learning models to do the forecasting,” says Sethi, who had access to mentor Chafik Hamad, a former Accenture managing consultant, and one of the Lab’s project managers. “Our client liked the solution that we built.”
Sethi had already dealt with several firms as part of the MMA program, and on a community project for the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. “Our business problem was to evaluate why some patients come to the hospital repeatedly,” says Sethi, so the institution can prioritize those in need.
The student team worked with anonymized data from emergency room visits and admissions to create Microsoft Power BI dashboards for the hospital, a visual data snapshot of the problem. “It gives you different dimensions to look at the data,” he says, to make an informed decision.
MMA graduate Yash Joshi also participated in the DataSphere Lab during his master’s degree. He initially took part in the inaugural Retail Gen AI Hackathon where student teams sought to develop innovative generative AI solutions for title sponsor ALDO Group.
The company liked his team’s project and wanted them to implement it, which they did through the DataSphere Lab, Joshi notes. He ended up getting hired for a full-time role by the footwear company – founded by McGill benefactor and graduate Aldo Bensadoun, BCom’64, LLD’12 – after working on the project with its AI analytics team.
“Every company has a lot of data and I think nowadays companies are treating data as assets,” says Joshi, now a senior data engineer with Compass Analytics in Montreal. “It’s not just producing and consuming data, it’s using that data to get insights, predict and plan for things better. That’s why analytics and AI are important.”
Win-win scenario for students and companies
Thanks to company-sponsored projects, the DataSphere Lab is already self-sustaining, which Hosain calls a huge feat. The Lab takes great pride in the fact that organizations hire its students for these assignments. Companies are initially hesitant due to the perception that students lack experience, “but we say we have experienced people who are coaching, monitoring and standing by the projects, and it’s incredible what these talented students can do when mentored effectively,” says Hosain.
“We provide the structure, but the execution comes from the students. They get to work on what they’re good at, what is valued in the real world and generate an experience that everyone needs when you actually have to prove yourself to the market,” he adds.
“For the companies, we tell them these projects are also a way to develop a strong talent pipeline. It’s not a 30-minute interview. It’s a three- to six-month project where you get to work with somebody and test their wares to see if they would be a strong fit in your organization.”
