Grant Thornton has provided a $3 million gift to Indiana University to establish the Grant Thornton Institute for Data Exploration for Risk Assessment and Management, or "GT-IDEA."
GT-IDEA will span IU's Kelley School of Business, School of Public and Environmental Affairs and School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. The institute will continue the mission of Grant Thornton's Advisory Services consulting practice, which helps businesses "create value and innovate, solve problems and strategic challenges, and manage risks, governance demands, and policy and regulatory obligations."
Students will be exposed to contemporary industry issues, case studies, competitions, as well as risk assessment and management experts at Grant Thornton.
"Business leaders of tomorrow will succeed by managing a wide range of risks through technology and innovation," stated Grant Thornton CEO Mike McGuire. "GT-IDEA will give students the multidisciplinary acumen they'll need to lead the dynamic companies of the future. This program will also build on Grant Thornton's reputation as an innovation leader with the exceptional students at Indiana University and beyond."
GT-IDEA will also focus on emerging technologies, quantifying risk and automating data exploration for risk management with "an eye toward policy and regulatory impacts."
"Interdisciplinary learning is crucial in deepening understanding and critical thinking," said Lauren Robel, IU provost and executive vice president, in a statement. "We are incredibly grateful to Grant Thornton for providing the opportunity for our SPEA, SICE and Kelley students to engage with peers and faculty across units in exploring risk assessment and management. Our students' understanding of the topic will develop significantly through this multiperspective exploration, and the mentoring from Grant Thornton leaders will be invaluable in opening students' minds to present-day issues within the field. "
Srikant Sastry, an IU alumnus and Grant Thornton's national managing principal and leader of advisory services, will serve on the GT-IDEA Executive Steering Committee. Aurpon Bhattacharya, a fellow IU alumnus and a principal in Grant Thornton's Enterprise Technology Strategy and Innovation practice, will be joined by Ward Melhuish, an innovation principal at Grant Thornton, to serve as the program's corporate liaisons, working with associate deans across all three IU schools.
For more information, head to IU's
