The services industry continues to be a rapidly growing segment of many developed economies, including the U.S. economy [1, 2]. Although a significant portion of the services industry is focused on providing services to individuals (medical, insurance, legal, financial), the business services sector, in which one company provides service to another company, is also a rapidly growing segment [3, 4]. Examples include traditional consulting, design, technical support (typically for products), call center operations, IT implementation and IT outsourcing.
Using machine learning and optimization to improve refugee integration
Andrew C. Trapp, a professor at the Foisie Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), received a $320,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop a computational tool to help humanitarian aid organizations significantly improve refugees’ chances of successfully resettling and integrating into a new country. Built upon ongoing work with an international team of computer scientists and economists, the tool integrates machine learning and optimization algorithms, along with complex computation of data, to match refugees to communities where they will find appropriate resources, including employment opportunities. Read more →