Innovation at the Intersection: Data to Stories
Innovation is a core value at Humber Polytechnic and a cornerstone of the Humber Academic Plan 2023-2026. Our faculty are at the heart of this innovation ecosystem—tackling industry challenges, reimagining learning in the classroom, fostering deeper partnerships, and making a lasting impact.
In this series, Innovation at the Intersection, we explore innovative research projects that are driving positive change at Humber and beyond.
By Saran Davaajargal
The art of storytelling meets the science of data in a project led by Aqeela Tabassum, PhD, of the Longo Faculty of Business, and Sergio Frias, MBA, from the Office of Research & Innovation. Collaborating with industry partner MCI, the team seeks to transform customer data into actionable insights that foster long-term engagement and loyalty. The project demonstrates how technologies and innovative data analysis approaches can empower businesses to align with customer expectations, ultimately improving satisfaction and loyalty.
Aqeela notes that companies cannot rely solely on humans and old-fashioned techniques to develop solutions for customers.
This context requires the use of technologies to empower humans in their search for answers. To be able to share the company’s value proposition, storytelling has proven to be highly linked to the ability to engage people emotionally.
“Often referred to as Scientific Art or Magical Science, storytelling is an excellent tool to connect people emotionally. The idea is to understand how and from where we can collect the relevant data so that we can play with it to learn about the needs and wants of the customers. This project brings the human and business aspects together via technology and the proper use of data and information to create value consistently,” says Aqeela.
Sergio Frias, the co-investigator of the project, states, “Our project can help companies understand what their customers see as value, so they can adjust their offers and their delivery to continuously make the customers happy.”
Sergio adds, “This project can be seen by many as a data analysis discussion, but it is actually all about customer experience. We are using technology and data analysis to figure out the value from the customers’ perspective and to improve the enterprise’s offers and deliveries.”
The research team includes Humber students Aaron Boughen and Heena Chauhan as research assistants. We asked the research assistants about their experience working on the project.
For Aaron, this project provided a great opportunity to apply learnings from the Research Analyst Program. “Of particular note was creating data dashboards in Power BI. It provided an opportunity to work with datasets from which to draw conclusions,” says Aaron.
Heena notes that it was fascinating to explore what matters to customers, especially through the lens of data analysis. “This project has not only refined my research skills but also provided valuable insights into how businesses can evolve to better serve their customers and thrive in a competitive market,” says Heena.
For the industry partner MCI, this project is expected to reveal more about what their customers perceive as value, allowing MCI to reshape their offerings to further improve their perceptions about what they deliver. Another effect of the project for MCI will be clarity about what words, expressions, and keywords will trigger potential customers’ interest when used in marketing materials and campaigns, such as e-mail marketing, social media publications or websites.
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Nous remercions le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG) de son soutien.
