A large financial gift from TD Bank means Western University’s Faculty of Science can dive deeper into the field of data analytics.
The $1 million investment will go towards the research of experts and those studying the field, who harness the power of information by extracting meaning from complex data. The money will be used on four new initiatives on campus: a physical space on campus dubbed the TD Analytics Hub, a professorship to shape a data analytics and data science program, a year-end competition, and four annual bursaries for women.
“More data was created in 2017, the year that hasn’t ended yet, than in the past 5,000 years. So we can get scared about it, or we may decide to do something about it,” said Amit Chakma, the president of Western University.
He made the announcement at the school’s Physics and Astronomy building Monday, before a large crowd of faculty members and dignitaries from both Western and TD Bank.
Data analysis has a wide-range of applications across a swath of different industries. Insights generated by data analysis can help with the prevention of bank fraud, planning for and mitigating damage from forest fires and improving affordable housing.
It can also help local hydro companies determine how often to trim tree branches near power lines, explained Pauline Bramby, the acting dean of science.
The four annual bursaries will support women in a new undergraduate data science program, which Bramby said hopes to encourage more women into fields related to analytics, including statistics, computer science, and even physics.
“Typically, the percentage of women in those fields is not terrifically high, it might be 20 per cent, 25 per cent. It’s certainly not 25 per cent.”
Christian Nelissen, TD Bank Group’s senior vice-president of Enterprise Data and Analytics, said their customers are leading increasingly digital lives.
“We don’t seem them as often, we see them a lot more often in the digital space” he explained.
“What that means for us is that data becomes increasingly the way for connecting with our customers. So, to be good at this, we need to be great at being able to use data.”
It’s not the first time TD Bank has donated to Western University. Chakma said their gifts over the years have amounted to $9.9 million.
By improving its teaching and research, the university is touting its position as a hot spot for solving some of the worlds most complex issues.
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