Imperial College London and KPMG Announce Partnership

KPMG and Imperial College London have launched a major new partnership to create the 'KPMG Centre for Advanced Business Analytics'. KPMG will invest over £20m, with the aim of putting the UK at the forefront of data science.

The initiative, which will focus on five key areas - analysis of business capital, growth opportunities, people, operations and resilience - aims to complete 15-20 projects over the next eight years. Each area has been selected to help UK businesses gain a competitive edge by launching products and services ahead of international competitors.  The Centre will be led by researchers at Imperial College Business School as part of the College's Data Science Institute, which is developing new data science methods and technologies and supporting world class data-driven research.

Outgoing Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts said:  "It's encouraging to see Imperial College London and KPMG teaming up on this new partnership that will both accelerate the speed in which data based research is carried out and the time it takes to commercialise new ideas into everyday practice benefiting UK businesses. This is a good example of what I've been calling for in seeking national research to become more public."

Simon Collins, KPMG UK Chairman commented: "More data has been created in the last two years than in the rest of history.  That's amazing but we can all drown in data unless we know what to do with it.  Our collaboration with Imperial is about developing the people and skills to use that data to drive new industries and new services.  It is immensely exciting for the UK economy and we are very proud to be leading in this crucial area."