Dalhousie opens big data analytics institute

Dalhousie Univ has officially launch the Institute for Big Data Analytics, Canada's first academic research unit dedicated to expanding knowledge in the field, and partnering with industry across a range of sectors. The institute will be directed by Dr Stan Matwin, a Canada Research Chair holder in Visual Analytics. Big data analytics is a rapidly growing field of capturing and analyzing data points to determine patterns that can be used for decision-making in business, government, healthcare and elsewhere. The institute will also receive funding from the Nova Scotia Department of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism to help start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises better understand and exploit big data. The institute is currently working with Boeing on projects involving aviation maintenance and safety data sets — an expansion of its collaboration with the university dating back to 2011. Boeing has also entered into visual analytics research agreements with other universities including Memorial Univ and the Univ of British Columbia as well as Mitacs as part of its industrial regional benefits obligations (R$, January 22/09 & March 31/11)….