A curated multidisciplinary team of Wharton and Penn students, ranging from undergraduates to MBAs, works alongside a Wharton mentor and your company champion on an 8-week project to explore your real-world business challenge using your datasets and the latest techniques including machine learning and AI. Accelerators occur during the fall and spring semesters and are typically planned six months in advance.
Benefits
“The results from our AI & Analytics Accelerator project were truly outstanding. We were so impressed with our student team. What was discovered was actionable and well thought out. McDonald’s is eager to implement the students’ recommendations and assess the impact.”
Jola Oliver
Director of Global Social Listening & Measurement, McDonald’s Corporation
How it Works
Join the AI & Analytics Accelerator
Secure your spot by becoming a Student Research Partner
Scope Your Project
Identify the business challenge, objectives, and datasets
Prepare and Share Data
Agree to a process around secure data sharing
Launch Your Project
Meet your student team and discuss project objectives and expectations
Meet Regularly
Attend weekly meetings with your student team and Wharton mentor
Participate in the Summit
Experience student presentations with insights, models, and solutions
Evaluate Impact
Discuss project recommendations and business implications with the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative
Fall 2025 AI & Analytics Accelerator Projects
Agentic AI Workforce Impact
Project Details
Accenture aims to examine how the adoption of agentic AI is reshaping workforce demand, job roles, and skill requirements across industries.
Client Insights and Engagement
Project Details
Penn Vet aims to identify patterns in client satisfaction, loyalty, and giving potential to enable smarter segmentation, more timely and personalized solicitations, and targeted marketing strategies.
Pharmaceutical Forecasting and Market Impact
Project Details
RxSense aims to forecast pharmaceutical utilization and pricing trends to help clients anticipate the impact of new drug launches, generic transitions, and broader category shifts.
Data-Driven Rate Optimization
Project Details
Shiftkey’s first project will develop a data-driven model to recommend optimal base rates for new facilities by leveraging regional benchmarks, historical shift fill rates, and specialty-specific demand patterns.
Dynamic Pricing Intelligence
Project Details
Shiftkey’s second project focuses on developing intelligent pricing tools to enhance shift fulfillment and optimize marketplace efficiency.
Our Partners on the Impact of the Accelerator
Current & Previous Partners
Company Applications
Applications are open on a rolling basis and reviewed throughout the year.
The program runs during the fall and spring semesters, and applications are considered for both sessions.
If your team is facing a complex analytics or AI challenge, we encourage you to apply for the 2025–26 cohort. Priority is given to Student Research Partners, who receive guaranteed placement and extended collaboration benefits.
A limited number of sponsored project slots are also available for nonprofits and organizations that use data and technology to address society’s most pressing issues.
