Global integrated payments corporation American Express has recently opened a data analytics, risk, and technology (DART) lab at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Tamil Nadu last Thursday, September 3, 2020. The company will reportedly gear its efforts to research on human behavior, notes Financial Express.
American Express has opened the lab under a grant to further highlight talent and diversity within the institution.
In a statement, Senior Vice President and chief executive officer of American Express Banking Corp., India, Manoj Adlakha said, “We are proud to partner with the country’s premier academic institution to invest in the future of cutting-edge data science and analytics research.”
The establishment of the data analytics, risk, and technology lab at IIT Madras comes as American Express plans to establish itself as a leader and a world-class company in the risk analytics and behavioral sciences field. It aims to utilize Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI) and other similar technologies and advancements.
According to the Economic Times, the research hub would focus on researching human behavior and the decisions affecting or behind it.
The DART lab’s opening aims to manage and reduce risk by introducing research- and science-based understanding surrounding human strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the Financial Express states that the DART lab and its respective research aim to gauge the attention and cognition of humans, and by extension, prevent harmful instances and accidents in high-risk sectors.
According to the IIT Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthi, “The DART Lab will focus on bringing data analytics to bear on problems arising due to the interplay of human factors and inherent risk or uncertainty in the work environment due to unknown or partial information.”
“The scholarships and awards will encourage our women students to excel in STEM and pursue enriching careers at the post-graduate level. We look forward to continued support from American Express for growing these efforts in the coming years,” continued Ramamurthi.
The American Express lab also hopes to boost industry talent by partnering with the Indian Institute of Technology. Under the grant, the DART lab in IIT Madras is set to focus one exploring a varied range of sectors, including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, operations management, and smart cities report the Economic Times.
The technologies used at the hub can also be extended to different aspects of data analytics and research management, which the Economic Times states include employee engagement and attention, improving the quality of learning and education, and many others.
Research produced by the institution will be available for public viewing, particularly to advance collaborative efforts with the government and further advancements in education.
