Scotiabank Centre for Customer Analytics at Smith School of Business awarded $1.18 million in research funding

Kingston, Ont. – The Scotiabank Centre for Customer Analytics (SCCA) at Smith School of Business is poised to move analytics and AI adoption to its ‘next level’ in Canada with $1.18 million in joint funding from Scotiabank, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Mitacs via an NSERC Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate grant. 

NSERC Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate grants support research collaborations between Canadian university researchers and partner organizations to enhance student training and accelerate the generation and application of new knowledge that will create benefits for Canada. At Smith, the SCCA will use the grant to develop and test novel frameworks and methodologies to advance technologies, applications, and ethics in AI. 

"The decade-long research collaboration between Queen’s and Scotiabank has paved the way for groundbreaking advancements in analytics and AI, poised to elevate their adoption to the ‘next level’ in Canada,” says Ceren Kolsarici, Director of the SCCA, Associate Professor & Ian R. Friendly Fellow of Marketing. “With Scotiabank’s vast customer base and national presence, the implementation of these research findings promises to enhance fairness, financial inclusion, resource efficiency, affordable housing and overall societal welfare for millions of Canadians." 

 “Analytics, AI and data-driven decision-making present significant opportunities for Canadian financial services firms,” explains Anton Ovchinnikov, Distinguished Professor of Management Analytics at Smith and a Scotiabank Scholar within the SCCA. “Early investments in analytics and AI have, rightfully so, been in ‘low-hanging fruit’ solutions and applications. Now, organizations must move beyond these quick wins to remain competitive.” 

Collaborators from Scotiabank and Queen’s University have been working to address challenges related to data-driven decision-making in the financial services industry since 2016, with the launch of a dedicated customer analytics centre at Smith. Under the SCCA, major projects have produced applications for the benefit of employees and customers at Scotiabank, provided best-practice learning opportunities for graduate students, and translated findings relevant to industry, academia and the public at large. 

“This partnership with Smith School of Business builds on our successful history of research collaborations with Queen’s and represents our joint commitment to advancing AI in banking,” says Yannick Lallement, Vice-President and Chief AI Officer at Scotiabank. “The grant will enable us to move beyond our initial AI achievements and continue to pursue sophisticated, innovative solutions that are transparent, trustworthy and equitable. Leveraging cutting-edge research and working alongside talented academics allows us to effectively embrace and operationalize AI within Scotiabank.”