Nielsen brings opportunities to USF through new partnership

College of Business Dean Moez Limayem describes USFs new partnership with the Nielsen Company in three words: Win win win!

The partnership with Nielsen, a world leader in collecting and measuring data, will now allow USF students access to all information Nielsen provides. Nielsen, best known for tracking home TV ratings, collects information related to consumer behavior what consumers buy, what entertainment choices they make and what products sell.

Kaushal Chari, chair of the Information Systems and Decision Sciences department in the College of Business, who is coordinating the partnership with Nielsen, said the sharing of data is a development that took almost two years to secure.

Limayem said the first win lies in that students will have access to live, real data and will be able to enhance their analytical skills with data from Nielsen that can be used in the classroom.

The second win, Limayem said, is for Nielsen. Through this partnership, USF hopes to provide the company with graduates who have extensive experience in working with, analyzing and utilizing the type of data that Nielsen specializes in.

USF is one of the biggest hiring pools for Nielsens Global Technology and Information Center in Tampa Bay.

Last Thursday, Nielsen partnered with USF to hold Industry Connections, an event focused on networking and opportunities students could find at Nielsen. Industry Connections featured breakout sessions as well as representatives from other companies in the Tampa Bay area such as the Poytner Institute for Media Studies, TBO.com, Publix Supermarkets and Tampa Bay Technology Forum.

The third win, Limayem said, is for the researchers who will be able to use Nielsen data for their projects.

Because of the partnership, USF faculty can use Nielsens data in research and publications, and students will have access to the most up-to-date information on consumer behavior, rather than old information from textbooks.

Faculty members and Ph.D. students will be able to work on research projects that are relevant to the industry, Chari said. Data is something that is very critical for business research.

Nielsen will also have USF faculty as a resource.

(Nielsen) will be able to seek our faculty and researchers expertise to help with problems they cannot solve on their own, Limayem said.

Nielsen will be on campus for a Careers & Coffee event at the Job Shop located in the Library on Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and at the Career Fair on Sept. 27 and Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Marshall Student Center.