Our Story

Founded in 2015, the Institute of Business Analytics (IBA) is the research hub for the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama and serves as a coordinator for University-wide research activities, particularly as it pertains to the technical aspects of working with data. Additionally, the IBA manages all funded research activity and serves as a nexus point for faculty, research staff, and students. The multidisciplinary team at the IBA seeks to develop and cultivate data and analytics expertise through evidence-based research via communicating applied research discoveries and approaches with technically-focused students, faculty, and various corporate, community, and government partners with underutilized data. IBA projects range from focused academic investigations to major corporate partnerships, to servicing the needs of our State and Nation (e.g., methodological and evidence-based studies, Lockheed Martin and Protective Life, Alabama State Opioid Repository).

The IBA is comprised of four main sectors that work throughout the university

• Marillyn A. Hewson Data Analytics Lab
  • The Marillyn A. Hewson Data Analytics Lab is a state-of-the-art data science research facility providing visual, hands-on experiences for analytics while serving as a space for collaboration between interdisciplinary teams across the university.
• Experiential Learning
  • Through Experiential Learning we develop students beyond the classroom through our partnerships, to obtain experience in real-world scenarios in order to remain relevant in a changing, global business environment.
• Research Hub
  • Our grant specialists provide resources for faculty in the pursuit of extramural funding and manuscript development.
• RADAR
  • RADAR is our centralized data repository for combining together public/private data sources for analytics and research.